(CLO) Food distribution, medical services and many other humanitarian activities have been suspended after the Trump administration froze foreign aid and cut the budget of the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
Clean water projects in many countries
USAID supports hundreds of water security projects in Jordan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, India, and many other countries. About 4 billion people worldwide lack access to safe drinking water.
“Without those programs, animals die, people die, people are displaced,” said Evan Thomas, a professor of environmental engineering at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
He was involved in a project in Kenya that provided more than 1 million people with access to clean water thanks to 200 deep-water pumps partly funded by USAID. Now the program can’t pay for maintenance and repair contracts for the pumps. “That whole program is now in danger of collapse,” he said.
“When people don’t have water, their livestock die, they’re stressed. That creates opportunities for militias to recruit,” Thomas warned, referring to the growing influence of the terrorist group Al-Shabaab in Kenya. “Weakening global access to food, water, and medicine will not make America safer.”
“People are not just going to sit around and die of thirst. They are going to migrate. And that is going to increase the pressure on migration around the world,” he added.
In other parts of Kenya, USAID-funded projects aimed at improving HIV/AIDS care are also being disrupted.
Food Supply Programs in Sudan
Jeremy Konyndyk, president of Refugees International and a former USAID official, said US-funded soup kitchens in Sudan have been forced to close.
The news comes as the United Nations reports that millions of families, many of whom have been displaced, are facing severe hunger due to the country's protracted conflict.
Food from USAID is distributed to refugees fleeing the Tigray conflict. (Photo: GI)
“Many are displaced and many others are suffering from famine and other crises. They could suffer serious harm or even death,” Konyndyk warned, noting the far-reaching impact on refugees in Sudan, Syria and Gaza.
The US FEWSNET global hunger monitoring system, used to track hunger around the world, has also been shut down due to the Trump administration's freeze on aid.
“USAID is the cornerstone of lifesaving initiatives in famine-stricken areas like Ethiopia, Somalia and Sudan,” said Jamie Munn, executive director of the Council of International Voluntary Agencies. “However, the freeze in funding has left millions of people without essential services like health care, clean water and shelter.”
Malaria may become more common
USAID leads a malaria control and elimination program in 24 of the hardest-hit African countries, including Mali, where the disease is a leading cause of death.
The agency donates anti-malaria drugs, test kits and insecticide-treated mosquito nets, helping to reduce disease rates and save lives.
Malaria still claims about 600,000 lives each year, mostly of children under the age of five. However, thanks to the US President’s Malaria Initiative, run by USAID, the death rate has been cut in half since the program was launched in 2006.
Afghanistan faces serious consequences
Life-saving aid programs for 145,000 vulnerable women in Afghanistan have been frozen, providing safe housing, mental health counseling, medical care and job training amid the Taliban’s tightening control over women, a source said.
Meanwhile, more than 6 million Afghans survive on “bread and tea,” according to Hsiao-Wei Lee, director of the World Food Programme (WFP) in Afghanistan. Last year, the United States contributed 54 percent of the WFP’s funding in Afghanistan, according to the United Nations.
Aid to Ukraine interrupted
USAID has funded backup heating systems in 14 regions of Ukraine, helping schools and hospitals operate during the conflict with Russia. However, the official USAID Ukraine account on social media X has now stopped updating.
The agency also helps provide equipment to energy workers, such as in the city of Odessa, which was recently hit by a major attack on the power system.
Funding for food security and rehabilitation programs for veterans has also stalled, according to nonprofits in Ukraine.
USAID also funds programs that help thousands of children stay in school and support those affected by the war. In addition, USAID plays a key role in keeping Ukrainian media outlets alive.
“These grants have become a pillar of support for media outlets, in a context where the advertising market has not yet recovered…”, the Ukrainian Parliament’s Information and Humanitarian Policy Committee said last week.
Venezuela-Colombia border instability
In Colombia, USAID runs many important programs, including counternarcotics, emergency food assistance, and forest protection.
Organizations working on the ground have expressed concern about the sudden cut in aid, especially as the country faces rising violence and a humanitarian crisis in Catatumbo - a strategic area for drug production.
NGO aid workers in Latin America have compiled a list of USAID projects designed to combat immigration and the influence of criminal gangs, but these programs have now been suspended in Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.
The US funds 47% of global humanitarian aid
The impact of an aid freeze is not limited to a few countries, but could have global repercussions.
“I think the entire humanitarian system could collapse because we fund about 40 percent of it,” said a USAID official. According to the United Nations, the United States contributes about 47 percent of total global humanitarian aid.
Although USAID accounts for less than 1% of the US federal budget, the organization, founded in 1961, is the world's largest provider of humanitarian aid.
Ha Trang (according to USAID, CNN)
Source: https://www.congluan.vn/nhung-tac-dong-tren-toan-cau-khi-my-dong-bang-vien-tro-nhan-dao-post333176.html
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