Poll: Americans Overwhelmingly Support Global Investments with Measurable Economic Impact

As part of a new national survey of nearly 8,000 Americans, the ONE Campaign posed questions about support for international development and life-saving programs. The poll revealed that a large cross-section of Americans support overseas investments that both help people and provide an economic return on investment at home.

Americans Support a Win-Win Scenario

A strong 75% of Americans support US investments abroad that both help people in other countries and benefit the US economy. ONE asked specifically about views of the Development Finance Corporation (DFC), a US agency that leverages private sector finance for projects in developing countries. Since its inception, the DFC has made money for the US government. ONE found that knowing that one fact about DFC moved 42 percent of Americans to be more supportive of DFC and DFC-like programs. Among Republican respondents, that figure rose to 50 percent.  

Americans Have Multiple Motivations for Supporting International Development

When asked which statement most closely matched their reason for supporting investments in international development, supportive Americans were evenly split between reducing poverty, creating new markets for American exports, and national security concerns. All three narratives tied one another for popularity, with under 34s skewing towards poverty reduction being their motivation, while market creation and national security are more attractive to those over 55.

“From Aid to Trade” Has Bipartisan Cachet

Inspired by the recent Congressional efforts to extend AGOA – the African Growth and Opportunity Act – ONE asked if opening the door for more imports from developing countries would be an acceptable way to build economic resilience and expand prosperity to move countries away from reliance on foreign aid. Majorities of both Republican and Democrats agreed with that idea, with just 9 percent opposed.

Americans Support HIV/AIDS Prevention, as Well as Treatment

As a follow-up to ONE’s summer 2025 polling showing strong bipartisan support for US investments to fight HIV/AIDS, ONE asked whether the US should fund HIV prevention programs as well as treatment for those already infected, or treatment programs alone. 76% of Americans support US investment in prevention and treatment, compared to just 11% in favor of treatment alone.

Note: These finding are the result of a multilevel regression and poststratification poll conducted by Stack Data in October 2025 with a sample size of over 8,000 people.