Immediately after returning to the office of president Donald Trump decided to radically change the strategy of the national Agency for global improvement (USAID) through which financial assistance is provided to organisations in another countries. The Republican president wants the funds to be distributed in accordance with the American First policy (America above all).
A note informing about the necessity of acting in accordance with Trump's fresh doctrine was sent to over 10,000 USAID employees. According to agencies, those who refuse to comply with the demands of the president will be threatened with disciplinary measures. Nearly 60 USID elder officials were sent on leave.
A fewer hours after Trump took office ordered that the aid be suspended for 90 days, to check whether it is consistent with its abroad policy priorities. On Friday, the U.S. Department of State issued an injunction to halt work on all existing abroad programs.
What will the suspension of abroad aid affect?
Reuter Agency says This decision threatens to deprive people of billions of dollars of the essential help.
— This is crazy. It'll kill people. I mean, if it's implemented the way this telegram was written... quite a few people will die. It is simply a destructive force designed to break as many people as possible, says Jeremy Konyndyk, a erstwhile U.S. official.
Trump's decision will have a peculiarly negative impact on global wellness programmes. It's designed chaos. Organisations will gotta halt all activities, including providing crucial wellness services related to HIV/AIDS, with nutrition, with the care of mothers and children, all agricultural work, all support to civilian society organisations, education, says the agency was a high-ranking U.S.ID authoritative who requested anonymity.
Siffroy Clarens / AFPPeople lined up for medical consultation in a mobile clinic run by the Institute for Population wellness and improvement (ISPD), in collaboration with the USAID at a exile camp in Haiti, 29 November 2024
Doctor Atul Gawande, who was head of Global wellness in USAID for 3 years, wrote on X that Trump's decision "will origin harm worldwide". He stated that the following projects would be stopped by her:
- work to combat the Marburg fever epidemic in Tanzania and the widespread epidemic mpox virus strain killing children in West Africa,
- monitoring of avian influenza in 49 countries,
- important work on eliminating polio,
- donations of over $1 billion (about PLN 4 billion) for medicines and coordination of actions to combat tropical diseases,
- the acquisition of medicines that aid more than 90 million women and children get affordable vaccines, prenatal care, safe transportation and contraception,
- direct services for 6.5 million HIV-infected orphans, susceptible children and their caregivers in 23 countries and the acquisition of medicines for 20 million HIV-infected people.
This will besides affect assistance to developing countries. Journalist Farah Saafan wrote on page X that Egyptian students who had previously utilized respective USAID scholarships were informed that they had to find a way to pay their own tuition. "Students, most likely from agrarian areas of Egypt, now pack bags and plan to leave campus. Their academic future is unclear," she wrote.
On the decision of the fresh US administration Major UN agencies besides suffered, due to the fact that the USAID financed their programmes to varying degrees:
- World Food Programme (WFP): 54 percent of its full backing came from USAID ($4.65 billion, PLN 18.79 billion),
- Office of the UN advanced Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR): 54 percent of full backing from USAID ($1.96 billion, PLN7.92 billion),
- United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA): 41% of full backing from USAID (188.2 million dollars, PLN 760.68 million),
- United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF): 36 percent of full backing from USAID ($1.02 billion, PLN 4.12 billion),
- United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO): 14 percent of full USID backing ($63.1 million, PLN255.04 million).
This will besides affect environmental and agricultural projects worldwide. The cut-off of USID backing can, for example, endanger Tanzanian NGOs and agriculture. Following Trump's decision, more than 60 NGOs in Tanzania faced disruptions. “ Many young people in Tanzania grow vegetables and fruit and are mostly dependent on USAID funds. will mean that production will fall and many will lose their jobs,” says Malembo Lucus, a Tanzanian agribusiness expert.
The National Geographic investigator Kashish Das Shrestha, on the another hand, points out that USID funds were besides of large importance to Nepal. Now projects on health, agriculture, environment and climate, and preparedness and consequence to natural disasters will besides be suspended.
A U.S. State Department authoritative who spoke to “New paper Europe” subject to anonymity says that the department has dealt with this issue for the past week.
— At this point, all the aid was suspended. No 1 knows what the Trump administration is yet planning to do. For now, all our efforts are focused on maintaining at least the essential assistance, specified as the supply of food to refugees. But virtually all tranche of aid, even if it concerns urgent lifesaving measures, must get a separate approval, which is granted as an exception, he says.
— I think we'll be able to save those programs that are meant to save lives here and now. Overall, However, we do not have much area to defy Trump's decision — he is in charge of the executive authority and has the right to suspend our work. As far as I realize it, there is simply a possible of challenging Trump's decree in court due to the fact that we are talking about a suspension of aid and money that legislature approved,” he adds.
How will this aid Ukraine?
The USAID official, who besides requested anonymity, tells the Reuter Agency that The suspension of all work was besides ordered by the persons liable for assistance projects for Ukraine.For example, a task of support for schools and wellness assistance was frozen, including the care of emergency mothers and vaccinations for children.
Some programmes aimed at integrating Ukrainian refugees were besides suspended. For example, Latvia cancelled an event to prepare a task for Ukrainians, which includes Latvian language courses, mentoring and social inclusion classes.
FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP / AFPVolodymyr Zelenski in Davos, 21 January 2025.
Ukrainian president assured that military aid packages were not limited in any way. The National Ministry of Social Policy has ensured that this decision will not affect the financing of social initiatives.
In addition, the USAID utilized funds to counter Russian aggression. The Agency supported civilian society, journalists and activists, as well as strengthening Ukraine's energy infrastructure.
— Trump’s decision, even more Friday’s executive regulation Marc Rubio, frozen American aid for humanitarian projects worldwide for 3 months. This seems to have affected the lion's part of Russian media and public projects. any of them restrict programs and call off offline events. According to media reports, any partners have even stopped responding to messages in communicators due to the fact that they consider it a violation of the ban, says Russian oppositionist Andrei Piworov.
Another interviewer who runs a network of channels on Telegram (also preferred to stay anonymous for safety reasons) says media projects will gotta find another sources of backing at least for the period of suspension of assistance from the USAID. “ due to the fact that grants from her represent a large part of our budget, it will surely be a real blow to our business. At the end of 90 days, we anticipate the situation to return to the state before 24 January (before Trump’s decision), he says.
— Until then, we will gotta reduce employment, reduce any projects not related to core activities — notably human rights actions, intellectual support, a number of another initiatives that are not straight linked to the media. It is not known what will happen after these 90 days “ He adds.
