Countries worldwide are already feeling the impact of the US administration’s decision to eliminate more than 90 percent of foreign aid contracts and cut approximately $60 billion in funding. Within hours of the announcement earlier this week, programs were shuttered, leaving millions without access to life-saving services, reported AP.
Some 10,000 contracts with the US Agency for International Development (USAID) were terminated on Wednesday through letters sent to nongovernmental organizations worldwide. The letters stated that the programs were being defunded “for convenience and the interests of the US government,” according to a source, reported AP.
Many of these programs were reliant on the US aid to support health systems, nutrition programs, and humanitarian assistance.
Here are key projects confirmed to have been closed:
Africa
- Democratic Republic of Congo – Action Against Hunger will stop treating tens of thousands of malnourished children from May, putting them in “mortal danger,” as per AP.
- Ethiopia – Food assistance was cut for more than 1 million people, and the Ministry of Health terminated 5,000 workers focused on HIV and malaria prevention, vaccinations, and supporting vulnerable women affected by war.
- Senegal – The largest malaria project, which distributed bed nets and medication to tens of thousands, has shut down, along with maternal and child health services that provided care for pregnant women and malnourished children.
- South Sudan – The International Rescue Committee closed a project that provided health care and nutrition services to over 115,000 people, as per AP.
- Sudan – 90 communal kitchens in Khartoum were shut down, leaving over half a million people without consistent food access.
- Mali – Critical aid, including access to food, water, and health services, was cut for more than 270,000 people.
- Burkina Faso – Over 400,000 people in the north lost access to essential services such as clean water, gender-based violence support, and child protection, reported AP.
- Somalia – 50 health centers servicing over 19,000 people per month have closed due to unpaid health workers.
- Kenya – More than 600,000 people in drought-affected areas lost access to food and nutrition support.
- Nigeria – 25,000 severely malnourished children will no longer receive food assistance by April.
Asia
- Bangladesh – 600,000 women and children lost access to maternal health care, reproductive health services, and protection from violence.
- Afghanistan – Hundreds of mobile health teams and other essential services were suspended, affecting 9 million people.
- Syria – Aid programs for 2.5 million people in the northeast were shut down, as per reported by AP. A dozen health clinics, including a main referral hospital, have also closed.
- Thailand – Hospitals serving approximately 100,000 refugees from Myanmar have shuttered.
- Philippines – A program improving access to disaster warning systems for disabled people was terminated.
- Vietnam – A program assisting disabled individuals through caregiver training and in-home medical care was halted.
- Yemen – 220,000 displaced people lost access to maternal health care, protection from violence, and rape treatment services.
Europe
Ukraine – Cash-based humanitarian programs that reached 1 million people last year were suspended.
Latin America
Colombia – A Norwegian Refugee Council program assisting 50,000 people with food, shelter, and clean water was shuttered, exacerbating an ongoing humanitarian crisis.
Caribbean
Haiti – 13,000 people lost access to nutritional support services.
Aid organizations and affected governments have expressed alarm over the decision, as per AP, warning that millions are now left vulnerable to starvation, disease, and instability.
(With inputs from AP)
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