(AFP) – In Uganda, millions of schoolchildren have benefitted from a universal education program backed by the United States. In South Sudan, US assistance has helped thousands of flood victims at risk of cholera. With one swoop of the pen, President Donald Trump froze the bulk of US foreign assistance for three months on returning to office, demanding a review to ensure all money meets his “America First” principles.
The Trump administration has since issued waivers for food and other humanitarian aid. But aid workers say uncertainty reigns and that the impact is already being felt by some of the world’s most vulnerable. Even if US assistance returns after the 90-day review, aid workers fear long-term consequences from the cutoff, and some observers see a lasting blow to US credibility as China and other powers woo the developing world.
“Even if the funding eventually turns back on, great damage will have been done,” said Peter Waiswa, an accountant in Kamuli, Uganda, who coordinates aid as part of a network known as the Compassion Connectors. “Missing drugs for days for the HIV/AIDS patients can cause death,” he said. Waiswa noted that some schools in the universal education program that relied on US assistance have already given notices for children not to report to school.
In Aweil, in the northern reaches of impoverished South Sudan, orphanage teacher James Akoon Akot said that 3,000 people who lost their homes in floods were promised relief by international groups backed by US assistance. “The problem is that aid is used for both immediate relief and reconstruction,” he said. “If this decision to cut off funds is not reconsidered soon, there is a very real possibility that people will begin to die of hunger and diseases in South Sudan,” he warned.
– Uncertainty reigns –
The United States has long been the world’s largest provider of development aid, giving $64 billion in 2023. Among its most prominent programs is PEPFAR, the anti-HIV/AIDS initiative started under former president George W. Bush that is credited with saving some 26 million lives. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a memo signed on January 24 froze all US assistance with waivers for “emergency food” and, outside of development, weapons for Israel and Egypt.
In a follow-up memo, he exempted other humanitarian assistance including shelter and medicine, appearing to give the greenlight for anti-retroviral drugs funded by PEPFAR. However, Suzy Dzimbiri, a nurse in Zumba, Malawi, reported that she heard of people stockpiling whatever medicine they can and that one local charity administering HIV/AIDS treatment, named Lighthouse, quickly closed down.
In Washington, a congressional aide who follows humanitarian assistance said that even a nine-day shutdown could affect one million daily doses of HIV/AIDS medication, and noted that guidance was still unclear. “It sounds like people expect PEPFAR to go ahead, but we have nothing in terms of specifics,” the aide remarked. “We do know of cases where there has been medicine sitting on the shelf, ready to go, and it’s been ordered to stay on the shelf” pending guidance from Washington, the aide said on condition of anonymity.
“PEPFAR was supposed to be our Marshall Plan. The idea that we would just flip a switch and it would all turn off shows us to be capricious — we don’t actually care — and that going forward they probably do need to look to countries like China,” the aide added.
– ‘We don’t want to see people die’ –
Explaining his decision to issue further waivers, Rubio stated, “We don’t want to see people die and the like.” He emphasized that the waiver process was rightfully forcing groups to justify spending, as “historically we’ve gotten very little cooperation.” “We have this thing that I’ve called the foreign aid industrial complex — all of these entities around the world that are getting millions and millions of dollars from the United States,” Rubio expressed in an interview with SiriusXM. “We have to make sure that it’s aligned with our national interest.”
A senior official from a US-based organization expressed concern that the priority on “emergency” assistance was part of a broader plan to eventually argue that the United States need not fund anything else. “Even the term ’emergency food’ is a contradiction in terms. You go without food for a few days, and I’ll tell you what emergency food looks like,” said the official, who requested anonymity to avoid upsetting US government contacts.
The official noted that the most affected by the cutoff were local groups that did not have financial reserves — precisely the types of organizations that US officials aim to support. “This is essentially like burning down the foundations with the professed aim of renovating your house,” he concluded.
– Shaun Tandon
© 2024 AFP
