Many people across Africa are shocked and worried about the 90-day pause on U.S.-funded foreign aid and a stop-work order on existing grants and contracts worldwide.
While the orders have been modified to allow waivers for “life-saving humanitarian assistance,” many are struggling to assess the implications of U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision.
The Trump administration says that the United States spends about $40 billion every year in aid, and that it’s time to review and prioritize America’s core national interest one dollar at a time.
Most development and humanitarian assistance is channeled through the U.S. Agency for International Development through various programs, working with individuals, communities, organizations and countries across the globe.
In Kenya, while many organizations directly affected are keeping quiet, one employee who spoke on the condition of anonymity said he’s grateful for what American aid has accomplished over the years.
“We’ve been having success stories,” he said.
The employee is among the hundreds who received a stop-work order. He said he is most concerned for the beneficiaries of programs he’s been associated with over the years.
“These are families who were anticipating they could get support. … This will stop. … There are children who are HIV-positive, and we always collaborate with their facilities to ensure that they are viral-suppressed. Now they’ll be of high viral load,” the man said.
On Tuesday, the administration issued waivers on “existing life-saving humanitarian” assistance programs, including “core life-saving medicine,” which may apply to health programs such as PEPFAR, the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, which works with partners in 55 countries worldwide. One of them is South Africa, where 7.8 million people have HIV/AIDS.
Asanda Ngoasheng, an independent political analyst from South Africa, said the nation “is the biggest beneficiary of the PEPFAR program, and has been for many years. … It will have dire consequences for people in the region because there are some people who come to South Africa to receive some medication. … So, it’s a medical disaster in waiting, effectively, and a humanitarian disaster in waiting.”
Addressing a press conference broadcast live on SABC on Wednesday, South African Health Minister Dr. Pakishe Motsoaledi said he hopes withdrawn aid will not affect antiretroviral treatments.
“One thing we want to ascertain is that nobody must stop taking ARVs,” Motsoaledi said. “That will be devastating. … When you are on ARVs and you stop, there will be serious trouble.”
Through PEPFAR, the U.S. has invested over $110 billion in the global HIV/AIDS response, saving over 25 million lives and preventing millions of HIV infections since it was established more than two decades ago by President George W. Bush, according to U.S. State Department data.
There are other programs that can’t afford a funding break, said Dr. Akila Udoji, manager of Karu Primary Healthcare Center, a Nigerian facility sponsored by USAID.
“Tuberculosis diagnosis treatment, if that funding is cut off, it will greatly affect the program because there won’t be any diagnosis of such cases and then the medicines, people can’t afford them,” Udoji said. “And if they can’t afford it, it will lead to serious outbreaks of these diseases.”
The U.S. Global Leadership Coalition, an advocacy group, welcomed the administration’s review of foreign assistance programs in a statement but expressed some concerns.
Former commander of U.S. Central Command Anthony Zinni, who is co-chair of the council of nearly 270 retired admirals and generals, warned that the freeze “takes the U.S. off the playing field” and could directly affect U.S. military operations overseas.
VOA requested interviews with the USAID offices in Kenya, Nigeria and the U.S. but did not receive replies.
Meanwhile, the 90-day freeze is already paying dividends, a statement released by the U.S. State Department said this week.
It said the review has already prevented over $1 billion in spending not aligned with the administration’s “America First” agenda, including programs providing certain contraceptive, climate justice, clean energy and abortion programs and services.
VOA’s Kate Bartlett in South Africa and Timothy Obiezu in Nigeria contributed to this report.
