KEY POINTS
- Education, agriculture, health, media in jeopardy after suspension of funds
- Organisations running projects worth millions of dollars struggle for survival
- Closure of the USAID would layoff millions worldwide and thousands in Pakistan
Shutting down of US Agency for International Development (USAID) operations in Pakistan means sudden suspension of nearly $200 million development projects’ portfolio affecting almost two million people and leaving thousands jobless.
The USAID has been here since the creation of Pakistan in 1947 and has been helpful in development with $30 billion US funds of infrastructure, education, healthcare, and governance.
An official of the Economic Affairs Ministry told WE News that the departure of USAID would abandon ongoing projects of over $170 million. “That would affect millions of people’s livelihood, healthcare, and education in addition to ending thousands of jobs,” he added.
A sizeable number of students are feared to go out of school when their teachers won’t have salaries following the organizations running those schools wind up in the absence of funds.
According to the official, the education and health sectors in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh would be badly affected wherein a variety of projects were underway with the assistance of USAID.
Depriving 1.7 million
As an instant effect of USAID operations halt on health sector in Pakistan, over 60 health facilities are set to shut down, depriving 1.7 million people, including 1.2 million Afghan refugees of life-saving reproductive health services, according to the EAD official.
These facilities were run by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), which has now halted its US-funded operations following the aid freeze.
Likewise, USAID closure has shut down Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA), a program recently inaugurated by the American Ambassador himself was aimed to help farmers adapt to climate change. The five-year programme at a cost of $24 million was launched by US Ambassador Donald Blome in November last year.
According to informed sources, US officials managing the project are on their way out of Pakistan and the local staff of the project is rendered jobless like others working on different US funded projects. While launching the CSA project at the University of Agriculture in Faisalabad in November last, Ambassador Blome had remarked: “Together, we’re planting the seeds of success.”
Pakistan’s largest non-governmental organisations network, the Free and Fair Elections Network (FAFEN) chiefly funded by the USAID has given an option to staff to work from home to minimize their travel costs after pause, however, almost half of our staff continues to work from office. The network is continuing with its core work, FAFEN spokesperson said.
The decision by the US to freeze funding is already sending shockwaves across Pakistan’s development sector, where thousands of workers employed by NGOs and civil society organizations now find themselves at risk of joblessness.
Transformative role in Pakistan
From a historical point of view, USAID has played a transformative role in Pakistan over decades, funding major projects in power generation, agriculture, education, and disaster response. In the 1950s and 60s, the agency helped revolutionise agriculture by investing in high-yield wheat and rice varieties and supporting research institutions such as the Faisalabad Agriculture Institute and Karachi’s Institute of Business Administration.
Infrastructure projects received major boosts, including technical assistance for the Tarbela Dam, one of the largest earth-filled dams in the world, generating 4,888 megawatts of electricity. USAID also supported upgrades to the Mangla and Warsak Dams, securing Pakistan’s energy future, according to economic survey documents of Planning Commission of Pakistan.
Following 9/11, USAID played a strategic role in economic growth, governance, and counterterrorism projects. Over the years, USAID brought in $43.5 million for economic development; $150 million for Tarbela Dam expansion; $81 million for the Kurram Tangi Dam; $97 million for the completion of Gomal Zam Dam; $17.9 million to improve clean drinking water access; and $19.1 million to strengthen electoral and legislative processes, as mentioned in the Economic Survey of Pakistan.
2005 earthquake and flood assistance
In education, USAID trained over 100,000 teachers and spent $20 million on leadership training across governance, economy, and security sectors. In times of crisis, the agency provided $510 million in relief after the 2005 earthquake and $676 million following the 2010 floods. As recently as 2022, USAID allocated $53.1 million for flood assistance, as per the Economic Survey.
Experts on international development assistance find the biggest concern after the closure of the USAID that an abrupt choke on funds would spread a new wave of restlessness chiefly in the third-world countries depending mostly on the American aid.
“The concern now is that the sudden collapse of development programs could lead to more conflict and migration worldwide,” observed Denial Cooper, an independent development consultant who has been working with various international non-governmental organizations. “We have seen how increased migration flows can lead to instability and the rise of populism and I think that could be destabilising for the United States over the medium to longer term,” he warned.
We have seen how increased migration flows can lead to instability and the rise of populism and I think that could be destabilising for the United States over the medium to longer term. ” – Denial Cooper, an independent development consultant
According to several US media outlets, only around 300 out of 10,000 USAID employees are currently allowed to continue their work. It is unclear how many of the development projects Trump will allow to restart after the 90-day review.
It has been a long time since development cooperation has been discussed as heatedly as it is now — in the US and across the world. USAID will also likely be a topic at the Munich Security Conference, which runs from February 14 to 16. Representatives from China, US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are expected to attend.
The decision by US President Donald Trump to suspend development aid has brought US-funded projects in around 130 countries to a standstill. This has had dramatic consequences for millions of people and humanitarian aid workers around the world.
Trump has accused the development agency USAID of wastefulness. On February 6, he wrote on his “Truth Social” platform “Looks like billions of dollars have been stolen at USAID.” He did not provide any evidence.
Opposition politicians in the US have accused Trump of jeopardizing the global fight against hunger, disease, and conflict.
Uncertainty around USAID’s future
International media outlets have rejected accusations by President Donald Trump and right-wing influencers that the USAID paid millions of taxpayer dollars to newsrooms in exchange for coverage favouring the Democratic Party.
Trump wrote on social media on Thursday: “LOOKS LIKE BILLIONS OF DOLLARS HAVE BEEN STOLLEN AT USAID, AND OTHER AGENCIES, MUCH OF IT GOING TO THE FAKE NEWS MEDIA AS A ‘PAYOFF’ FOR CREATING GOOD STORIES ABOUT THE DEMOCRATS.”
Prominent Trump supporters, including billionaire Elon Musk, amplified the narrative about USAID directly funding some news outlets including Politico and the New York Times.
During the 90-day pause, relevant US departments and agencies are required to review their foreign funding and determine whether the aid will continue, be modified or cease altogether, according to the executive order.
Throughout its existence, the US Agency for International Development has funded tens of thousands of lifesaving development and humanitarian projects in a wide range of sectors all around the world. However, Elon Musk, the billionaire head of the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency, still believes that it is “a criminal organization” that needs to die.
With its looming closure, the uncertainty around USAID’s future and the future of its programs extends beyond the current fiscal year — with tens of billions in obligated funding yet to be disbursed.
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