The Trump administration just cut over 90% of foreign aid contracts and reduced funding by about $60 billion. Programs shut down right after this decision, leaving millions of people without crucial medical care. Aid organizations across the world got termination notices for roughly 10,000 contracts with USAID on Wednesday. These notices said programs were being defunded for convenience and because they served the interests of the US government.
Many affected programs exist in countries that rely completely on US support for basic health systems, food programs, and preventing starvation. UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said that fighting terrorism and drug trafficking and helping migrants will also be harmed by these cuts. Action Against Hunger will stop treating tens of thousands of hungry children in Congo beginning in May. The organization warned this puts these children at risk of dying.
According to local disaster officials, Ethiopia lost food help for more than 1 million citizens. The Ethiopian Ministry of Health fired 5,000 workers who handled HIV prevention, malaria control, vaccinations, and helping women heal from war traumas. Senegal saw its main malaria prevention effort fall apart—a program that gave bed nets and medicine to tens of thousands of people. Care for mothers and children and treatment for serious hunger also ended in that country.
The International Rescue Committee stopped healthcare and food help for over 115,000 people in South Sudan. A key Colombian aid program run by the Norwegian Refugee Council quit helping 50,000 people with basics like food, shelter, and clean water in areas facing terrible violence. Sudan lost 90 community kitchens in Khartoum, cutting off regular food access for more than half a million people during wartime.
Around 600,000 women and children in Bangladesh will miss out on mother care, protection from abuse, family planning services, and lifesaving treatment. Important help like water, food, and medical services ended for more than 270,000 people in Mali. Over 400,000 northern Burkina Faso citizens lost access to water, and thousands more lost protection from violence and child safety programs.
Somalia saw 50 health centers close, which used to treat about 19,000 patients every month—health workers simply stopped receiving pay. Ukraine's cash help programs, which aided 1 million people last year, have stopped completely. Afghanistan lost hundreds of mobile medical teams and similar services, affecting 9 million citizens, according to UN officials.
Aid programs for about 2.5 million people in northeastern Syria stopped working entirely. Doctors Without Borders said that a dozen clinics in northern Syria, including the main hospital for that area, have shut their doors. More than 600,000 Kenyans living through dry spells and facing bad hunger will go without food support and nutrition help.
Haiti lost food programs for 13,000 people, part of cuts affecting at least 550,000 aid receivers across the country. Hospitals serving almost 100,000 Myanmar refugees in Thailand have closed. About 25,000 badly hungry children in Nigeria will stop receiving food by April. The Philippines lost a program that helped disabled people learn about incoming disasters.
Vietnam ended a program that assisted disabled people by training caregivers and bringing medical care to homes. In Yemen, 220,000 displaced persons will miss out on mother healthcare, protection from violence, help for rape survivors, and other needed services. These cuts happened fast, forcing aid groups to leave people who counted on them without any plan or backup options.
Many affected programs exist in countries that rely completely on US support for basic health systems, food programs, and preventing starvation. UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said that fighting terrorism and drug trafficking and helping migrants will also be harmed by these cuts. Action Against Hunger will stop treating tens of thousands of hungry children in Congo beginning in May. The organization warned this puts these children at risk of dying.
According to local disaster officials, Ethiopia lost food help for more than 1 million citizens. The Ethiopian Ministry of Health fired 5,000 workers who handled HIV prevention, malaria control, vaccinations, and helping women heal from war traumas. Senegal saw its main malaria prevention effort fall apart—a program that gave bed nets and medicine to tens of thousands of people. Care for mothers and children and treatment for serious hunger also ended in that country.
The International Rescue Committee stopped healthcare and food help for over 115,000 people in South Sudan. A key Colombian aid program run by the Norwegian Refugee Council quit helping 50,000 people with basics like food, shelter, and clean water in areas facing terrible violence. Sudan lost 90 community kitchens in Khartoum, cutting off regular food access for more than half a million people during wartime.
Around 600,000 women and children in Bangladesh will miss out on mother care, protection from abuse, family planning services, and lifesaving treatment. Important help like water, food, and medical services ended for more than 270,000 people in Mali. Over 400,000 northern Burkina Faso citizens lost access to water, and thousands more lost protection from violence and child safety programs.
Somalia saw 50 health centers close, which used to treat about 19,000 patients every month—health workers simply stopped receiving pay. Ukraine's cash help programs, which aided 1 million people last year, have stopped completely. Afghanistan lost hundreds of mobile medical teams and similar services, affecting 9 million citizens, according to UN officials.
Aid programs for about 2.5 million people in northeastern Syria stopped working entirely. Doctors Without Borders said that a dozen clinics in northern Syria, including the main hospital for that area, have shut their doors. More than 600,000 Kenyans living through dry spells and facing bad hunger will go without food support and nutrition help.
Haiti lost food programs for 13,000 people, part of cuts affecting at least 550,000 aid receivers across the country. Hospitals serving almost 100,000 Myanmar refugees in Thailand have closed. About 25,000 badly hungry children in Nigeria will stop receiving food by April. The Philippines lost a program that helped disabled people learn about incoming disasters.
Vietnam ended a program that assisted disabled people by training caregivers and bringing medical care to homes. In Yemen, 220,000 displaced persons will miss out on mother healthcare, protection from violence, help for rape survivors, and other needed services. These cuts happened fast, forcing aid groups to leave people who counted on them without any plan or backup options.
