U.S.-funded aid programs globally are facing disruptions as President Trump's 90-day freeze on foreign aid takes effect. This freeze impacts humanitarian, development, and security programs, forcing organizations to halt operations and lay off staff. The freeze has far-reaching consequences, from halting school lunch programs in Liberia to potentially disrupting support for Ukrainian veterans. While emergency food programs and military aid to Israel and Egypt are exempt, many vital civilian programs face uncertainty.
FILE – Solar panels system funded by United States Agency for International Development are seen in the Lebanese-Syrian border town of Majdal Anjar, eastern Bekaa valley, Lebanon, Nov. 9, 2022. By ELLEN KNICKMEYER, SAMYA KULLAB, FARAI MUTSAKA and CHARLOTTE GRAHAM-McLAY, Associated Press WASHINGTON — U.
S-funded aid programs around the world have begun firing staff and shutting down or preparing to stop their operations, as theAllies including Ukraine also are struggling to save part of their security funding from the 90-day freeze, ordered by President Donald Trump last week. Trump also just The Trump administration says it ordered the foreign aid pause to give it time to decide which of the thousands of humanitarian, development and security programs will keepMeantime, U.S. officials ordered the programs to stop spending immediately. Only emergency food programs and military aid to allies Israel and Egypt were exempt. The freeze means schools in Liberia are prepared this week to fire cooks who provide children with lunch. U.S. efforts to aid American businesses abroad and to counter China’s rising influence could close. Veterans in Ukraine who call a crisis hotline may soon get a recorded message, with no promise of a call back.Grappling with the global scale of the aid shutdown The United States is the world’s largest source of foreign assistance by far, although other countries give a bigger share of their budgets. It provides 4 out of every 10 dollars donated for humanitarian aid. Aid workers, local officials and analysts stress that the scale of the freeze was difficult to grasp. “The aid community is grappling with just how existential this aid suspension is,” said Abby Maxman, president of Oxfam America, one of the few aid officials willing to speak publicly about the impact of the freeze following Trump administration warnings not to.Head Start and other services for low-income families hit glitches as Trump freezes federal money The Trump administration placed more than 50 senior officials with the U.S. Agency for International Development on leave Monday as many were helping organizations deal with the freeze. USAID’s acting head said he was investigating whether the officials U.S. policy for decades has been that aid given abroad pays for itself through greater national security, by stabilizing regions and economies and improving relations with partners. But many Trump administration officials and Republican lawmakers believe much foreign assistance is money that should be spent or saved at home. For every program, “we’ll expect the State Department to defend, repent, or in some cases, make the case for continuation of their programs,” said Rep. Brian Mast, Republican chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.The only military aid the State Department is responsible for and thus is covered by the pause is foreign military financing and international military education and training. There are other baskets for U.N. peacekeeping operations and demining programs.. That includes a program drawing from existing arms stocks and another called the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which is used to pay for weapons contracts that would not be delivered for a year or more. Neither of the Defense Department programs is directly affected by the freeze, although U.S. officials say there is nothing in the pipeline either. But civilian programs vital to Ukraine’s war effort do come from the State Department. There’s no word of exemptions for them. That includes salary support that the U.S. provides to keep Ukraine’s government running despite the That support is important, said Bradley Bowman of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. “But I think if our European allies are reading the political moment in the United States well, they better be moving, I say quickly, to try to pick up most or all of that burden.”The U.S. has sent stop-work orders to wartime civilian programs it supports in Ukraine. That includes Veteran Hub, a nonprofit that runs a crisis hotline getting up to 1,300 calls a month from Ukrainian veterans who need social and psychological support. Getting the stop-work order this weekend, Ivona Kostyna, the nonprofit’s leader, realized she could soon lose half of her trained staff of 31. “If we had a month, say, warning, even two-week warning, it would have been a lot easier on us,” she said. “We could have managed to somehow secure ourselves for this time. But there just wasn’t any warning.” Days before the U.S. freeze, Veteran Hub received a call from someone on the verge of hurting themselves, Kostyna said. A hotline staffer texted the person through the night. “And now what we have is a line that isn’t working and basically no answer, which is terrifying for us,” she said.In the southern African nation of Zimbabwe, Gumisayi Bonzo, director of a health nonprofit, worried for her organization — and for herself. Zimbabwe is one of the few African countries to achieve a milestone in HIV/AIDS diagnosis, treatment and suppression of viral load. That’s thanks in large part to a groundbreaking HIV program created by Republican President George W. Bush, credited with saving more than 20 million lives., or PEPFAR — has been targeted by Republican hardliners. Bonzo had yet to hear word of a funding cutoff for her group, Trans Smart Trust, which promotes health services for bisexual and transgender people in a country where discrimination and stigma discourage many to seek treatment.The 54-year-old has been taking HIV treatment for 23 years thanks to PEPFAR support that made medication affordable. “I have been religiously taking medicines for over two decades, I am living a normal life again, and suddenly we have to stop,” she said. “That’s a death sentence for many people.”Gyude Moore, a former Cabinet minister in Liberia who is now a fellow at the U.S.-based Center for Global Development, said the U.S. freeze would hurt lives around Africa. U.S. support helped West Africa recover from years of vicious wars. Money from USAID helped pay for school lunches, supported girls’ education, strengthened health systems and helps small farmers.“There is no wiggle room,” he said. Abandoning this assistance hurts the U.S., because “it makes no distinction between ally, partner and adversary,” he added. And U.S. rival China will be happy to move into areas of Africa to build its influence and business contracts in resource-rich countries, Moore and other analysts say. “Feeding hungry children in Liberia or malnourished children in Kenya, providing life-saving anti-retroviral drugs in Uganda — none of these things undermine American interests,” Moore said.to counter China’s influence, including by bolstering USAID spending to nations that are among the most dependent on development finance. During visits to the Pacific in 2024, officials announced more than $15 million in new spending, to boost natural disaster resilience, support economic growth, help countries withstand the ruinous effects of climate change, and more. Mutsaka reported from Harare, Zimbabwe, and Graham-McLay from Wellington, New Zealand. AP reporters Tara Copp and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed.Lawsuit, interviews offer differing accounts of Sheel Seidler’s past role with PadresSheel Seidler answers questions about role with Padres, claims made in her lawsuitMatt Seidler responds to Sheel Seidler’s lawsuit in court filingSan Diego County makes big play for its share of $6 billion state grant program for mental health careHe’s young. His company is, too. Can they put region on map as entertainment destination?
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