US Aid funding freeze leaves millions in jeopardy by UN News, Interaction, Caritas, ICVA, agencies 8:21am 5th Feb, 2025   Feb. 2025    Critical supplies of life-saving medicines have been blocked and children left without food and battling malnutrition as multiple effects were reported across the globe after the shut down of the US government’s pre-eminent international aid agency USAid.    Chaotic scenes were seen in scores of countries as aid organisations warned of the risk of escalating disease and famine along with disastrous repercussions in areas such as family planning and girls’ education, after President Donald Trump’s decision to freeze funding to USAid. In 2023, the agency managed more than $40bn.    Countless aid organisations have already been forced to close down or lay off staff. Trump has tasked the billionaire Elon Musk – who has falsely accused USAid of being a “criminal” organisation – with scaling down the US government’s lead agency for humanitarian assistance.    The impact on the global aid sector has been profound and immediate. US foreign aid accounts for four out of every $10 spent globally on humanitarian aid.    The initial repercussions include the abandonment in warehouses of supplies of crucial drugs in Sudan, the site of what is currently the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, as well as in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where recent fighting in the east has further destabilised the fragile region.    Across Africa, hundreds of thousands of children who rely on school meals have been left without sustenance after food was left to rot in the wake of Musk’s declaration that he wanted the US aid agency to “die”.    “Partners on the ground are saying that in DRC and Sudan, medical supplies are stuck in warehouses,” said a spokesperson for a leading international aid organisation.    Like many aid workers the Guardian news agency interviewed, the spokesperson requested anonymity, amid claims that officials from the Trump administration have put pressure on those in the humanitarian sector not to speak out. Many were also reluctant to talk on the record over fears of future funding,    Among the projects already forced to close is a girls’ education project in Nepal, raising the risk of a rise in child marriage and trafficking.    “All payments are frozen for these projects. There’s a lot of misinformation. Organisations are having to make decisions in a vacuum,” said one humanitarian official.    In Bangladesh, the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, which coordinates pioneering research into one of the most prolific killers of children, has laid off some of the world’s most respected scientists working on malaria programmes.    In Africa, malaria-control programmes in Uganda have been forced to adopt equally draconian measures with reports that dozens of vital projects for frontline care have been closed.    Farther south in Malawi, where many rely on donor-funded programmes for survival, fears are mounting that the aid freeze could redraw the country’s entire economy.    Within farming communities – the backbone of Malawi’s economy – Mike Dansa, chair of the Nsanje Civil Society Organisati­on, warned it could upend agricultural aid programmes that support smallholders with improved seeds, irrigation and climate-resilience projects, threatening food security in a country reeling from extreme weather events.    In Johannesburg, projects that have relied for more than 20 years on funding from the US HIV/Aids response programme, known as Pepfar, have had to lock their doors.    Dawie Nel, director of a Johannesburg clinic called Out, said his organisation, which looks after 6,000 clients, had suspended its treatment.    Across the Atlantic, similar scenes of chaos were playing out. In Colombia, which has been plagued by six decades of internal conflict and violence, large numbers of organisations rely on USAid funding.    Programmes providing emergency relief to families fleeing violence between armed groups have ceased operating.    Colombia’s former president and Nobel peace prize laureate, Juan Manuel Santos, told the Guardian: “I have seen the massive benefit these programmes funded by USAid have generated for people across the country. To cut it, suddenly, is going to have a terrible humanitarian effect.”    Elsewhere, the director of a major international aid organisation in Colombia – who also requested anonymity – feared the impact on those who most needed help.    “The people who this is going to affect the most are those already without a safety net. Precisely those who are least able to find another source of food, shelter or income,” they said.    “Without naming countries or areas, we have had to close life-saving services, for children with acute malnutrition, and also testing and treatment sites for health facilities, nutrition facilities and wash facilities,” said one aid worker.    Jeremy Konyndyk, president of Refugees International and a former official at USAid, described Musk’s wish to close the agency as posing an existential threat to the humanitarian sector.    “If this goes forward, it really is an extinction-level event for the global aid sector in the US and for much of the global relief and development sector around the world.”    Konyndyk added that it would also “destabilise” budgets of many large aid and United Nations organisations around the world. “It threatens really the collapse not just of what USAid does, but of this huge ecosystem of relief and development organisations that are doing good around the world every day,” he said.    Research from the Guttmacher Institute underlined such warnings, revealing that 11.7 million women and girls will be denied access to contraceptive care over the course of the 90-day aid freeze, which they predict means 8,340 women and girls would die from complications during pregnancy and childbirth.    Elsewhere, concern over the fate of the humanitarian sector was laid bare in a survey of 342 international development organisations, which concluded that without US funding, more than half were likely to close before May.    http://www.interaction.org/statements http://www.cbsnews.com/video/head-of-ngo-coalition-says-u-s-foreign-aid-freeze-has-been-devastating/ http://apnews.com/article/usaid-cuts-hunger-sickness-288b1d3f80d85ad749a6d758a778a5b2 http://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/20/health/usaid-freeze-hiv-tb-nutrition.html http://www.nrc.no/news/2025/february/nrc-forced-to-suspend-essential-aid-work-in-almost-20-countries http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/ng-interactive/2025/feb/21/the-impact-has-been-devastating-how-usaid-freeze-sent-shockwaves-through-ethiopia http://www.icvanetwork.org/uploads/2025/02/Impact-of-US-Funding-Suspension-Survey-Results-ICVA.pdf    Feb. 2025    Caritas strongly condemns the reckless decision by the U.S. Administration to abruptly close USAID funded programmes and offices worldwide.    Caritas recognizes the right of any new administration to review its foreign aid strategy. However, the ruthless and chaotic way this callous decision is being implemented threatens the lives and dignity of millions. Stopping USAID will jeopardise essential services for hundreds of millions of people, undermine decades of progress in humanitarian and development assistance, destabilise regions that rely on this critical support, and condemn millions to dehumanizing poverty or even death.    For over six decades, USAID has been a vital partner of Caritas and the Church globally, supporting vulnerable communities worldwide, providing lifesaving assistance for people affected by crises, alleviating hunger, delivering basic healthcare and education, improving access to clean water, sanitation, shelter and protection, and addressing the root causes of poverty. Its contributions have been paramount, fostering stability and development across many regions for decades.    Alistair Dutton, Secretary General, Caritas Internationalis, noted:    “Stopping USAID abruptly will kill millions of people and condemn hundreds of millions more to lives of dehumanising poverty. This is an inhumane affront to people’s God-given human dignity, that will cause immense suffering. Killing USAID also presents massive challenges for all of us in the global humanitarian community, who will have to completely reassess whom we can continue to serve and how.”    “Our immediate focus is working collaboratively with our partners and allies globally to reduce the impact of the freeze and ensure continued support for as many vulnerable people as we can. The lives and dignity of millions hang in the balance. We call on governments, international agencies, and stakeholders to speak out and strongly urge the U.S. Administration to reverse these dangerous measures.”    The ramifications of this decision extend far beyond U.S. borders. With USAID accounting for approximately 40% of the total global aid budget, the disruption will have catastrophic consequences worldwide. Direct recipients of USAID funds, secondary beneficiaries, UN agencies, and multilateral organisations, as well as national governments reliant on bilateral aid, all face severe operational setbacks. The resulting harm to people, particularly the poorest all around the world will be catastrophic, threatening the lives and dignity of millions".    http://www.caritas.org/2025/02/closure-of-usaid-foreign-aid-will-kill-millions/    Feb. 2025    ACT Alliance statement of concern over US administration policies’ impacts on humanitarian aid    As a Christian-based and rights-based coalition, the ACT Alliance is deeply concerned about the profound humanitarian consequences that may result from recent decisions by the United States administration severely limiting the ability of organizations around the world to continue to provide life-saving assistance to vulnerable individuals and families.    The ACT Alliance stands in solidarity with our members in the United States and around the world whose programs and standing have been affected by actions and narratives shared by the new administration. These sweeping and harmful policy decisions have significantly limited many of our members’ ability to maintain programs and serve vulnerable families who need critical services. These actions undermine the values of mercy, compassion, solidarity, inclusion, respect, and justice, which guide our mission and commitment to the most marginalized communities.    As people of faith, we believe in the moral imperative to care for those on the margins – mothers, children, people with disabilities, refugees, asylum seekers, migrants, and all who face systemic injustices. Foreign assistance has always been a testament to shared humanity; abrupt funding cuts threaten the ability of international and local NGOs to sustain essential services. The recent measures have life-and-death consequences for countless individuals. These shifts also reflect global trends in reductions of foreign assistance to respond to today’s humanitarian challenges.    We stand firm in our belief that together, through faith and rights-based action, we can build a world that upholds and protects the dignity and worth of every human being.    http://actalliance.org/act-news/act-general-secretary-statement-of-concern-over-us-administration-policies-impacts-on-humanitarian-aid/    4 Feb. 2025    US Aid funding pause leaves millions ‘in jeopardy’, insist UN humanitarians. (UN News)    UN agencies offered a dire assessment of the global impact of deep cuts to grassroots humanitarian funding by the incoming US administration and reiterated calls for Washington to retain its position as a global aid leader.    The development follows the pause announced to billions of dollars of funding on 24 January by the US administration affecting “nearly all US foreign aid programmes, pending a 90-day review”.    In a letter to all UN personnel, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said he had responded to the executive order from US President Donald Trump with a call to “ensure the delivery of critical development and humanitarian activities”.    Mr. Guterres said the organization will remain actively engaged in assessing and mitigating the impact of the order. “Now, more than ever, the work of the United Nations is crucial… Together, we will ensure that our organization continues to serve people in need around the world with unwavering commitment.”    Deadly consequences    Pio Smith from the UN Population Fund said that in response to the executive order, UNFPA “has suspended services funded by US grants that provide a lifeline for women and girls in crises, including in South Asia”.    The UN aid coordination agency OCHA, spokesperson Jens Laerke said that the agency’s country offices were “in close contact" with local US embassies to better understand how the situation will unfold.    He explained that the US Government funded around 47 per cent of the global humanitarian appeal across the world last year; “that gives you an indication of how much it matters when we are in the situation we are in right now, with the messaging we’re getting from the US Government”.    The move follows the announcement that the new US administration has placed the country’s principal overseas development agency, USAID, under the authority of the Secretary of State.    Staff from the agency have been locked out of their offices, while the head of the newly-formed Department of Government Efficiency Elon Musk has accused USAID of criminal activity and a lack of accountability.    “Public name-calling won't save any lives,” said OCHA’s Mr. Laerke, while Alessandra Vellucci, head of the UN Information Service at UN Geneva, highlighted the UN Secretary-General’s appeal for a productive relationship with the Trump administration.    “We are looking at continuing this work together and listening… if there are criticisms, constructive criticism and points that we need to review,” she told reporters, underscoring the “decades-long relationship between the UN and the US.    Amid uncertainty about future US funding, UNFPA’s Mr. Smith underscored the immediate impact on at-risk individuals in the world’s poorest settings: “Women give birth alone in unsanitary conditions; the risk of obstetric fistula is heightened, newborns die from preventable causes; survivors of gender-based violence have nowhere to turn for medical support,” he said.    “We hope that the US Government will retain its position as a global leader in development and continue to work with UNFPA to alleviate the suffering of women and their families as a result of catastrophes they did not cause.”    UNFPA works across the world including in Afghanistan, where more than nine million people are expected to lose access to health and protection services because of the US funding crisis, it said.    This will impact nearly 600 mobile health teams, family health houses and counselling centres, whose work will be suspended, Mr. Smith explained.    “Every two hours, a mother dies from preventable pregnancy complications, making Afghanistan one of the deadliest countries in the world for women to give birth. Without UNFPA’s support, even more lives will be lost at a time when the rights of Afghan women and girls are already being torn to pieces.”    In Pakistan, the UN agency warns that the US announcement will affect 1.7 million people, including 1.2 million Afghan refugees, who will be cut off from lifesaving sexual and reproductive health services, with the closure of over 60 health facilities.    In Bangladesh, nearly 600,000 people, including Rohingya refugees, face losing access to critical maternal and reproductive health services.    “This is not about statistics. This is about real lives. These are literally the world’s most vulnerable people,” Mr. Smith insisted. In Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar refugee camp complex –where more than one million Rohingya refugees remain trapped in dire conditions – nearly half of all births now take place in health facilities, with UNFPA’s support.    http://humanitarianaction.info/document/global-humanitarian-overview-2025 http://www.nrc.no/news/2024/december/alarming-gap-in-humanitarian-assistance--millions-will-receive-no-support/ http://asiapacific.unfpa.org/en/news/unfpas-work-supporting-vulnerable-women-and-girls-south-asia    6 Feb. 2025    UN food agency WFP received dozens of US stop work orders despite emergency waiver. (Reuters)    The U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) was ordered by Washington to stop work on dozens of U.S.-funded grants, according to an email seen by Reuters, that was sent five days after Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a waiver for emergency food assistance.    The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) grants, at various stages of progression, are worth tens of millions of dollars and provide food assistance in impoverished countries including Yemen, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, South Sudan, Central African Republic, Haiti and Mali.    The U.S. State Department and the World Food Programme did not immediately respond to a request for comment.    Several of the suspended grants are under the Food for Peace Title II program, which spends about $2 billion annually on the donation of U.S. commodities. The program, which makes up the bulk of U.S. international food assistance, is co-administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and USAID.    Just hours after taking office on January 20, Trump ordered a 90-day foreign aid pause so contributions could be reviewed to see if they align with his "America First" foreign policy. The U.S. is the world's largest aid donor.    The State Department then wrote a January 24 "stop work" cable - seen by Reuters - for all existing foreign assistance and paused new aid, but said Rubio had given an exemption for emergency food assistance. He also approved a waiver on January 28 for life-saving humanitarian help, defined as core life-saving medicine, medical services, food and shelter.    'Far Reaching Consequences'    But on January 29, WFP - whose executive director is American Cindy McCain - received an email, seen by Reuters, from USAID's Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance listing dozens of project numbers subjected to a stop work order.    A senior WFP official in Washington responded with a list of clarifying questions, according to the email. In another note, seen by Reuters, the same official raised concerns about the pause in Title II and Commodity Credit Corporation awards.    "The pause in Title II and CCC awards has disrupted WFP's massive food supply chain, affecting over 507,000 metric tons (MT) of food valued at more than $340 million," the WFP official wrote.    The official noted that some of that food was currently en route by sea, more was stored in 23 countries and some was in overland transport. They added that "a substantial quantity of food is currently being loaded at ports like Houston and other locations across the U.S. domestic supply chain."    "The scale of this disruption underscores the far-reaching consequences of the funding pause on global food assistance efforts. WFP is in the process of analyzing the impact this has on the extremely vulnerable beneficiaries in severe humanitarian contexts that receive this lifesaving assistance," the WFP official wrote.    http://www.reuters.com/world/un-food-agency-wfp-received-dozens-us-stop-work-orders-despite-emergency-waiver-2025-02-07/    State Department freezes funding for nearly all US aid programs worldwide. (25 Jan.)    The US State Department has issued a halt to nearly all existing foreign assistance and paused new aid. It makes exceptions only for emergency food aid. The notice calls for a 90-day pause in all foreign development assistance programmes pending a review. The United States is the world's biggest international aid donor.    Dave Harden, a former US Agency of International Aid (USAID) mission director, told the BBC the move was "very significant", saying it could see humanitarian and development programmes funded by the US around the world being immediately suspended, while the review is carried out. He said it could affect a wide range of critical development projects including water, sanitation and shelter.    "Not only does it pause assistance, but it puts a 'stop work' order in existing contracts that are already funded and underway. It's extremely broad".    Leading aid organizations were interpreting the directive as an immediate stop-work order for U.S.-funded aid work globally, a former senior U.S. Agency for International Development official said. Many would likely cease operations immediately so as not to incur more costs, the official said. The official was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.    Suspending funding “could have life or death consequences” for children and families around the world, said Abby Maxman, head of Oxfam America.    “By suspending foreign development assistance, the Trump administration is threatening the lives and futures of communities in crisis, and abandoning the United States’ long-held bipartisan approach to foreign assistance which supports people based on need, regardless of politics,” Maxman said in a statement.    At the United Nations, deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said: “These are bilateral decisions but nonetheless we expect those nations who have the capability to generously fund development assistance".    InterAction, the leading alliance of U.S. international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) said America’s humanitarian and development organizations work tirelessly to save lives.    "The recent stop-work cable from the State Department interrupts critical life-saving work including clean water to infants, basic education for kids, ending the trafficking of girls, and providing medications to children and others suffering from disease, it halts decades of life-saving work through PEPFAR that helps babies to be born HIV-free".    "The foreign assistance review mandated by the President should proceed without disrupting existing programs, especially those programs millions need to survive".    The National Council of the Churches in the USA (NCC) said it was “alarmed by the freeze on federal funding for aid programs providing assistance and support to millions of vulnerable people around the world.. NCC strongly urges the Trump Administration to immediately rescind the Order.. Humanitarian groups are already experiencing significant negative impacts. We pray for a swift reversal of this decision”.    UN Secretary-General calls on US to exempt development and humanitarian funds from aid ‘pause’.    “The United Nations Secretary-General notes with concern the announcement of a pause in US foreign assistance,” said the statement issued on behalf of Antonio Guterres by his Spokesperson. “The Secretary-General calls for additional exemptions to be considered to ensure the continued delivery of critical development and humanitarian activities for the most vulnerable communities around the world, whose lives and livelihoods depend on this support:    http://news.un.org/en/story/2025/01/1159486    * 30 Dec. 2025    Assessing the Impact of Trump’s Foreign Aid Freeze, interview with former senior USAid official Jeremy Konyndyk who now heads Refugees International. (Global Dispatches podcast): http://www.globaldispatches.org/p/assessing-the-impact-of-trumps-foreign    28 Jan. 2025    UN Agencies, Charities reel from US Aid freeze warn of ‘life or death’ effects.    News agencies report UN agencies have begun cutting back their global aid operations following the 90-day suspension of all foreign assistance ordered by the Trump administration.    Filippo Grandi, the head of the UN’s refugee agency, UNHCR, responsible for providing life-saving assistance to the 122 million people forcibly displaced from their homes across 136 countries, sent out an overnight email to employees ordering an immediate clampdown on expenditure, including a 90-day delay in ordering new supplies except for emergencies, a hiring and contract freeze, and a halt to all international air travel, as the agency tries to adapt to the US funding freeze.    Grandi said the majority of UN agencies and other international aid organisations have been affected. Around the world, humanitarian assistance programmes have been forced to fire staff and slow down operations following the unprecedented US funding suspension ordered by Trump, pending a review of all aid programmes.    In his all-staff email, Grandi said: “We must proceed very carefully over the next few weeks to mitigate the impact of this funding uncertainty on refugees and displaced people, on our operations and on our teams.”    The US provided £2bn ($2.49bn) in funding to the UNHCR, according to the latest figures for 2024 – a fifth of the agency’s total budget.    Clinics in Uganda are scrambling to find new sources for vital HIV drugs, aid workers in Bangladesh fear refugee camp infrastructure will crumble, and mobile health units may have to stop treating civilians near the frontline in Ukraine. Services worldwide have been thrown into disarray by President Donald Trump’s executive order.    The US president’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (Pepfar) is included in the order. It provides antiretrovirals to 20 million people with HIV globally, and funds test kits and preventive medicine supplies for millions more. Already, clinics worldwide are reporting that supplies have been halted.    “This is a matter of life or death,” said Beatriz Grinsztejn, president of the International Aids Society, adding that stopping Pepfar would be disastrous. “If that happens, people are going to die and HIV will resurge.”    (UN AIDS reports they have received an emergency waiver to allow the continuation of life-saving HIV treatment funded by the US across 55 countries worldwide).    The One campaign estimated that nearly 3 million children could be at higher risk of malaria if the president’s malaria initiative paused work for 90 days.    The Secretary General of The Danish Refugee Council; “The latest figures indicate that 60 per cent of global funding for humanitarian response remained unmet. Disrupting or cutting off life-saving aid will have deadly consequences at a moment when humanitarian crises are multiplying, and the needs are greater than ever”.    Andriy Klepikov, executive director of the Alliance for Public Health in Ukraine, said: “Mobile integrated medical services to people in remote locations closely located to the frontline are impacted. We provide mobile medical services to people in the areas where there are no clinics, doctors or nurses. This is a very demanded and effective programme. “I hope Ukraine – being amid the war – will be able to continue such critical services.”    Thomas Byrnes, who runs a consulting firm specialising in the humanitarian sector, said the sudden stop-work orders would have a harsh, far-reaching impact because of the extent the global system relies on US funding. The US provides 42.3% of global aid funding, according to the UN, and as much as 54% of the World Food Programme’s funding.    Byrnes said the “unprecedented” freeze was “forcing organisations to halt programmes abruptly, leading to job losses and reduction in essential services to vulnerable populations. They are so abrupt, there’s no cool-down period – it’s not in 30 days or 60 days. You have to stop now.”    http://www.interaction.org/statement/interaction-statement-on-recent-actions-impacting-usaid http://www.icvanetwork.org/90-day-suspension-orders/ http://www.icvanetwork.org/90-day-suspension-order-resources/ http://www.icvanetwork.org/the-humanitarian-imperative-must-come-first/ http://www.cgdev.org/blog/usaid-being-dismantled-when-world-needs-it-most    http://www.unaids.org/en/resources/presscentre/pressreleaseandstatementarchive/2025/february/20250201_us-funding http://www.msf.org/uncertainty-around-pepfar-programme-puts-millions-people-risk http://www.ipsnews.net/2025/02/tanzanians-with-hiv-left-in-crisis-as-u-s-aid-ends/ http://www.gatesfoundation.org/ideas/media-center/press-releases/2025/01/pepfar-us-international-aid http://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/05/health/trump-usaid-pepfar.html http://www.nrc.no/news/2025/february/nrc-forced-to-suspend-essential-aid-work-in-almost-20-countries http://www.npaid.org/mine-action-and-disarmament/news/all-of-npas-us-funded-activities-are-put-on-pause http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/jan/28/charities-reeling-from-usaid-freeze-warn-of-life-or-death-effects    http://www.devex.com/news/i-don-t-think-anyone-can-survive-for-90-days-aid-s-grim-new-reality-109207 http://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/05/opinion/usaid-spending-trump-musk.html http://newrepublic.com/article/191063/death-usaid-trump-musk-lives http://www.cgdev.org/blog/no-90-percent-aid-not-skimmed-reaching-target-communities http://www.cgdev.org/blog/secretary-rubio-waivers-arent-working-please-fix-process http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/latest/freeze-us-foreign-aid-will-result-humanitarian-disaster http://edition.cnn.com/2025/02/04/world/usaid-us-foreign-aid-freeze-humanitarian-crises-intl/index.html    http://www.context.news/in-focus/usaid-freeze-millions-in-need-and-global-aid-system-in-turmoil http://www.acaps.org/en/thematics/all-topics/us-funding-freeze http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/jan/31/trumps-aid-freeze-shuts-down-gold-standard-famine-monitoring-system http://www.bond.org.uk/news/2025/02/prime-minister-kier-starmer-announces-cut-to-official-development-assistance-oda-to-fund-defence-what-we-know-so-far/ http://www.bmj.com/content/388/bmj.r416 http://www.communitydirectors.com.au/articles/usaid-freeze-is-not-only-disastrous-but-also-deadly http://www.dw.com/en/us-foreign-aid-freeze-sends-shock-waves-around-the-world/a-71478989
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