WASHINGTON: The United States will terminate 83 percent of its programmes under the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Monday, as the Trump administration continues its push to reduce foreign aid in line with its “America First” policy.
“After a six-week review, we are officially cancelling 83 percent of the programmes at USAID,” Rubio stated on social media platform X.
“The 5,200 contracts that are now cancelled spent tens of billions of dollars in ways that did not serve, and in some cases even harmed, the core national interests of the United States.”
The decision comes in response to an executive order signed by President Donald Trump in January, which froze all foreign aid spending pending a review.
Rubio added that the remaining 1,000 programmes would now fall under the administration of the State Department, dealing what appears to be a fatal blow to USAID, where most employees have reportedly been placed on leave or dismissed since the beginning of the year.
Elon Musk, who is spearheading the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), lauded the cuts as “tough, but necessary.”
The billionaire businessman has been leading efforts to slash federal expenditure, including a broad overhaul of government-funded initiatives.
Foreign aid reductions
Critics of the decision warn that the sweeping cuts will have severe repercussions, particularly for vulnerable populations dependent on US assistance.
USAID operates humanitarian and emergency relief programmes in more than 120 countries, providing crucial funding for health, education, and disaster response.
The impact on global climate finance is expected to be particularly severe. According to an analysis by Carbon Brief, the US accounted for around eight percent of global climate finance contributions from the developed world last year.
The decision to scale back USAID funding will drastically reduce international efforts to combat climate change, including contributions to the Green Climate Fund and the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage.
“The US retreat from its global climate finance commitments is a staggering blow to the chances of keeping global temperature rise to 1.5C,” Anne Jellema, executive director of 350.org, said as quoted by The Guardian.
“By abruptly axing nearly a tenth of the limited funds for climate protection in developing countries, it is effectively abandoning millions of communities who have done nothing to cause global heating but who are losing homes, livelihoods and lives because of it.”
President Trump has also withdrawn US involvement from the Just Transition Energy Partnership with Indonesia, a multi-billion-dollar initiative aimed at phasing out coal use.
The administration has further begun erasing climate-related references from official government websites, intensifying concerns among environmental groups and policymakers.
Public health at risk
The funding cuts have also raised alarms in the global health community, particularly concerning efforts to combat tuberculosis.
The World Health Organization (WHO) warned last week that the loss of USAID support could severely disrupt tuberculosis prevention, testing, and treatment services in multiple countries.
Dr Tereza Kasaeva, director of the WHO’s Global Programme on TB and Lung Health, stated: “Without immediate action, hard-won progress in the fight against TB is at risk.”
According to the WHO, USAID previously contributed approximately $250 million annually to global tuberculosis programmes, operating in 24 countries.
The agency’s funding cuts have already led to drug shortages, disruptions in laboratory services, and the breakdown of disease surveillance systems.
Dr Luke Davis, a clinical epidemiologist at Yale School of Public Health, described the consequences in Uganda, where community health workers responsible for tuberculosis case tracking are facing layoffs.
“Patients may get a diagnosis of TB after they’ve left the clinic because they’re waiting for the results, and they may be at home with TB and not know they have it. There’s literally not the resources to go out and reach those people,” he said as quoted by NBC News.
A model coordinated by the Stop TB Partnership, a United Nations-backed initiative, estimates that since January 24, the funding cuts may have resulted in 3,600 additional tuberculosis deaths and 6,400 new infections.
The repercussions are not limited to developing countries. The US itself has recorded an increase in tuberculosis cases, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reporting more than 9,600 cases in 2023 – a 16 percent rise from the previous year.
Kansas has also seen a persistent outbreak, with 68 active cases reported since January 2024.
Dr Kenneth Castro, a professor of global health at Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health, cautioned against an inward-focused approach.
“What happens when we travel overseas? I’ve known servicemen and women who come back with multidrug-resistant TB after a tour of duty. I’ve known of bankers and people from Silicon Valley who work overseas and return with the disease,” he said.
“The problem with all these infectious diseases is that they know no borders, and neither should our efforts stop at the border.”
Global implications of US aid withdrawal
The withdrawal of US aid is expected to have lasting geopolitical and economic consequences. Under the Paris Agreement, developed countries, including the US, committed to providing substantial financial support to assist poorer nations in adapting to climate change and mitigating its effects.
Last November, global leaders agreed that climate finance should reach $1.3 trillion annually by 2035, with at least $300 billion coming from the developed world.
The US’s decision to retreat from these commitments places additional pressure on other nations, particularly the European Union and rising economies like China and the United Arab Emirates, to fill the void.
