(CLO) According to a February 10 report from a US government watchdog, nearly $500 million in food aid is sitting at ports, ships and warehouses at risk of spoiling, after the Trump administration suspended funding for the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
A report from the USAID Ombudsman highlights risks in the “storage and distribution” of $8.2 billion in unused humanitarian aid, after the Trump administration furloughed nearly all USAID staff and launched a review of US foreign aid programs.
USAID provides humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, health assistance and food security in more than 100 countries. Photo: US Embassy New Zealand
USAID, which provides humanitarian assistance to more than 100 countries, typically buys food directly from American farmers and producers. The United States typically provides about 40% of international food aid, according to a 2021 report by the Congressional Research Service. The suspension of USAID funding has left many American farmers, such as sorghum growers in Kansas, worried about markets for their produce.
A February 10 report by the USAID Inspector General said that $489 million in food is currently sitting at ports, in transit, or in warehouses, at risk of spoilage, unexpected storage needs, and diversion. Another 500,000 tons of food is on board or ready to be exported. USAID typically buys commodities such as wheat, soybeans, sorghum, and split peas from U.S. farmers.
“When food doesn’t get to where it needs to go, it ends up in the landfill, and that has serious consequences,” said Ashley Stanley, CEO of Spoonfuls, an organization that redirects surplus food from grocery stores and other businesses to relief organizations in Massachusetts.
The US State Department, which oversees USAID, has not commented on the matter.
The Trump administration has targeted USAID as President Trump and billionaire Elon Musk, head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), seek to cut the size of the federal government. Musk has said USAID should be shut down, calling it an “unsalvageable” agency.
USAID’s future is now in doubt. Last Friday, a federal judge blocked the Trump administration from placing 2,200 USAID employees on furlough.
The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), one of the world's largest humanitarian organizations, called the US cuts the most devastating in its 79-year history. The NRC said it would have to suspend programs that support hundreds of thousands of people in 20 countries.
“The consequences of this will be devastating for the most vulnerable, from Burkina Faso, where we are the only organisation providing clean water to 300,000 people trapped in Djibo City, to Sudan, where we support nearly 500 bakeries in Darfur to provide low-cost bread every day to hundreds of thousands of hungry people,” NRC said in a statement.
Cao Phong (according to Reuters, The Guardian, NYT)
Source: https://www.congluan.vn/500-trieu-usd-thuc-pham-co-nguy-co-bi-hu-hong-sau-khi-usaid-tam-dung-post334144.html
Comment (0)