USAID shutdown: Africa trembles

Translated by Federico Emanuele

On January 20, the day of his inauguration, newly elected President Donald Trump blocked funds dedicated to international assistance for 90 days through an executive order, which in its first paragraph states: 'The foreign aid industry and bureaucracy of the United States are not aligned with American interests and, in many cases, are antithetical to the country's values. They serve to destabilize world peace by promoting ideas in foreign countries that are directly in contrast with harmonious and stable relations within and between countries.”

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), an agency established by John F. Kennedy in 1961 and, until February 3, the day it was placed under administration, the largest tool for providing humanitarian aid in the world by the United States, was immediately affected by this measure.

"Regarding the USAID issue, I discussed it in detail with the president, and he agreed that we should shut it down"; said Elon Musk, who, along with entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, is responsible for the advisory commission called the Department of Government Efficiency.

Africa trembles

The effects of this drastic measure—justified as necessary due to USAID pursuing goals different from those for which it was established—have already strongly impacted various humanitarian organizations active in many countries. Particularly tragic is the situation in Sub-Saharan Africa, which over the past five years has accounted for more than a third of U.S. foreign aid spending.

As reported by the Washington Post, in the most desperate places like war-torn Sudan, the repercussions have been immediate. Half of the population needs food aid, and famine is spreading as Islamist militias and their allies in the army fight a paramilitary group accused by Washington of genocide. The suspension of USAID has halted national food programs serving millions of people and closed hundreds of community kitchens operating in areas too dangerous for large agencies.

A humanitarian worker in Sudan, who, like others in this story, spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid retaliation against their employer, said their organization received an order to halt projects funded for hundreds of millions of dollars.

"This means that over 8 million people could starve".

Additionally, in the besieged capital of Khartoum, more than two-thirds of soup kitchens have closed in the past week, reported Hajooj Kuka.

"It has been a total blackout", he said. "People are on the brink of starvation... they cannot last three days or a week without food". Kuka said most of the families they serve relied on that one meal a day.

The funding crisis coincides with massive global upheaval: more people than ever in Africa are suffering from hunger, and the continent—where the median age is 19—is experiencing more widespread conflicts than at any time since the end of World War II.

Although Secretary of State Marco Rubio, acting director of the Agency, has established an exception to President Trump's executive order for humanitarian assistance involving 'life-saving' measures during the review period, so that implementers of existing life-saving humanitarian assistance programs can continue or resume aid activities, if the goal pursued by the U.S. administration is successfully achieved, the consequences would be overall catastrophic. They would also directly impact policies aimed at strengthening international cooperation pursued by other states: this would be the case for Italy, where Washington's move is in direct contrast with the Mattei plan and, in general, with projects carried out by NGOs worldwide operating on the continent.

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