U.S. President Donald Trump ordered a pause on American aid disbursements as of January 20th, 2025. As the United States is the largest single donor of aid globally, this decision will have an immediate and direct impact on millions of people. DevelopmentAid.org follows and publishes updates on the key events around this White House decision.
February 10, 2025. Trumpâs order to put thousands of USAID workers on forced leave was blocked by a U.S. federal judge on Friday, February 7. According to media reports, the judgeâs order, which will be in effect until February 14, blocks the Trump administration from placing more than 2,200 USAID workers on paid leave and also reinstates 500 employees who had already been furloughed.
February 7, 2025. U.S. foreign aid freeze threatens critical programs in Africa
The U.S. aid freeze announced in late January is already dealing a harsh blow to African countries that are grappling with war and conflict. Millions of people in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Somalia, Mozambique, and Sudan are already facing extreme humanitarian crises, including displacement, food insecurity, and lack of access to basic services.
February 6, 2025. The impact of the U.S. aid freeze and its withdrawal from WHO on international development | Expertsâ Opinions
After several years marked by significant challenges for the international development sector, such as aid cuts by the U.K. and Germany, the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, and multiple natural disasters, nobody expected new turmoil. However, the end of January 2025 brought a fresh crisis as U.S. President Donald Trump entered the Oval Office in the White House and signed a number of executive orders. Two orders were particularly disastrous for the aid sector: a decision to freeze most U.S. foreign aid for three months, and the United Statesâ withdrawal from the UN World Health Organization (WHO). Although the Trump administration later exempted food and emergency humanitarian aid from the effect of its order, the consequences of this decision are already being felt in some of the most vulnerable communities globally. Aid workers fear that even if aid is resumed after the 90-day program review period, the interruption will have lasting consequences. Learn more about the impact of these decisions and how to be better prepared for all possible outcomes.
February 3, 2025. The White House issued a statement claiming that the U.S. Agency for International Development funneled massive sums of money to âridiculousâ projects.
âFor decades, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has been unaccountable to taxpayers as it funnels massive sums of money to the ridiculous â and, in many cases, malicious â pet projects of entrenched bureaucrats, with next-to-no oversightâ, says an uncategorized press-release published on the official governmental portal.
The document contains a list of 10 to 12 past projects and activities funded by the USAID, with hyperlinks leading to official USAID reports, as well as media articles, posts by websites publishing gossip, and older publications without official reports attached for fact-checking. The White House press secretary, Karoline Levitt, described the USAID-funded projects from the list using the word âcrapâ.
February 3, 2025. The U.S. Department of State issued a media note, announcing that President Trump appointed Secretary Marco Rubio as USAID Acting Administrator. The note says that Secretary Rubio has notified Congress about a review of USAIDâs foreign assistance activities, with a further possibility of a âpotential reorganizationâ of the agency.
February 3, 2025. Elon Musk, appointed by President Trump as head of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), was reported as saying that USAID was âbeyond repairâ and that âwork was underway to shut it downâ. In an earlier post on X social media platform owned by Musk, he described the agency as âa criminal organizationâ.
February 3, 2025. USAID stop-work orders: Consequences of USAâs âquasi-isolationismâ for vulnerable communities and development efforts
The decision by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to issue stop-work orders across its global portfolio has thrown the worldâs development and humanitarian sectors into crisis in recent weeks. These orders, which abruptly halted ongoing projects and contracts, left implementing partners scrambling to cope with the consequences. Given that the United States is the worldâs largest foreign aid donor â contributing more than $72 billion in 2023 alone â the suspensions have far-reaching consequences and are disrupting initiatives ranging from health programs to refugee resettlement efforts.
January 31, 2025. US Aid Freeze: Immediate Effects of the Executive Order | DevelopmentAid Dialogues
In this episode of DevelopmentAid Dialogues, host Hisham Allam delves into the consequences of the United Statesâ recent aid cuts, including their catastrophic impact on the global aid sector and vulnerable people. These decisions, mostly influenced by the Trump administrationâs foreign aid policy, have resulted in far-reaching changes, such as funding freezes, program suspensions, and withdrawal from major global projects such as the World Health Organization (WHO).
January 30, 2025. Kenyaâs 2024 humanitarian aid landscape: Impact of US 90-day aid suspension
Africaâs Kenya has received billions of dollars in humanitarian aid from international donors as well as local philanthropists. With the USA having been the countryâs main foreign donor for years, the suspension of foreign aid for 90 days recently announced by President Donald Trump has raised concerns about the impact of this decision on Kenyaâs health programs.
January 29, 2025. Supporting US organizations: up to 90 days of free access to tenders and grants
DevelopmentAid.org announced free access for U.S.-based organizations to the largest internet database of aid tenders and grants. The action aims to help organizations affected by Presidentâs Trump foreign aid order to diversify their funding portfolios.
January 29, 2025. U.S. State Secretary, Marco Rubio, approved a waiver on Presidentâs Trump foreign aid order, allowing organizations implementing âexisting life-saving humanitarian assistance programsâ to continue or resume work. The resumption is described as âtemporary in natureâ and âwith limited exceptionsâ. âNo new contracts shall be entered intoâ concludes the office of the Secretary of State.
January 27, 2025. A number of senior officials at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) were ordered to go on administrative leave. One of the possible reasons for this move was the âapparent efforts of some staffers to obstruct recent directives from President Donald Trumpâ, according to the media.
January 24, 2025. U.S. State Department issues a âstop word orderâ for all existing foreign assistance programs and pauses new aid initiatives.
January 20, 2025. United States President Donald J. Trump signed an executive order suspending all foreign aid disbursements for a 90-day period, pending âprogrammatic efficiencies and consistency with United States foreign policyâ. The United States is the largest single donor of Official Development Assistance (ODA) in the world. In 2023, the country provided $66 billion (out of nearly $224 billion provided by TOP -32 wealthiest nations).
