Top 10 Receivers Of US Foreign Aid: Notable Exemptions

Key points

US would keep funding humanitarian items: Marco Rubio
Since the war, Ukraine has become top recipient of US foreign aid
US military aid to Israel has soared to its highest in decades
USAID’s work in Somalia addresses key challenges

ISLAMABAD: On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio widened exemptions in a sweeping freeze on foreign assistance, saying the United States would keep funding humanitarian items such as shelter and medicine.

President Donald Trump, upon returning to office last week, ordered a 90-day pause to review the assistance provided by the United States, the world’s largest donor in dollar terms, according to TRT World.

Rubio followed up by freezing virtually all funding, though he specified exemptions for emergency food and military assistance to Israel and Egypt.

On Tuesday, in a follow-up, after an outcry from aid groups, Rubio clarified that other “humanitarian assistance” besides food would also be exempt during the review period.

Humanitarian assistance was defined as “core life-saving medicine, medical services, food, shelter, and subsistence assistance”, Rubio wrote in the memo, the contents of which were confirmed to news agencies. Here are the top 10 countries receiving US aid:

Ukraine

Since Russia’s invasion in February 2022, Ukraine has become far and away the top recipient of US foreign aid.

AJDF — Ukrainian servicemen unpack an earlier shipment of US military aid at Boryspil airport outside Kyiv, Ukraine, February 11, 2022 —Photo from Social Media/X

This marks the first time that a European country has held the top spot since the Harry S. Truman administration directed vast sums into rebuilding the continent through the Marshall Plan after World War II.

Israel

The United States was the first country to recognize the provisional government of the state of Israel upon its founding in 1948, and it has for many decades been a strong and steady supporter of the Jewish state.

US military aid to Israel has soared to its highest in decades amid Israel’s yearlong invasion of the Gaza Strip. Around 47,000 Palestinians, including a large share of civilians, children, and women have died in the conflict, according to the United Nations and the Gaza health ministry.

ISRRAL — An Iron Dome anti-rocket system, at right, and a U.S. Patriot missile defense system, left, during a joint Israel-U.S. military exercise in 2018 —Photo by AFP

US military support is also proving essential for Israel during its more recent hostilities with Hezbollah in Lebanon, and with Iran.

Jordan

The United States supports providing $1.45 billion per year in U.S. bilateral foreign assistance to Jordan, which started in Fiscal Year 2023, through Fiscal Year 2029.

Egypt

The United States considers Egypt a crucial partner for Middle East security, and a pillar of regional stability. Both as an incentive, then a reward, for the Camp David Accords that brought peace between Israel and Egypt in 1978, the two countries quickly became the largest recipients of US security assistance.

DFA — Armored trucks of Egyptian forces block the road and surround the square, where anti-governmnet protesters staged in Suez, Egypt in Jan. 26, 2013. Eight demonstrators against Presedent Mohammed Moris were shot to death in the rally on the anniversary of the 2011 uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak. The protesters hurled stones at Egyptian armed forces and the street clashes continued during a nationwide demonstration. ( The Yomiuri Shimbun ) (Photo by Koichi Nakamura / Yomiuri / The Yomiuri Shimbun via AFP)

Since then, the United States has provided Egypt with more than $50 billion in military aid and $30 billion in economic assistance, according to the State Department.

Ethiopia

Since 2020, USAID provided an estimated $3.6 billion in humanitarian assistance in response to conflict and recurring climate shocks. In FY 2022, US bilateral assistance to Ethiopia totalled $1.93 billion, comprised mostly of humanitarian aid.

DFA — A member of the Amhara Special Forces sits next to a machine gun at an improvised camp in front of a shop in Humera, Ethiopia [Eduardo Soteras/AFP]

Somalia

USAID’s work in Somalia addresses key challenges by supporting peace-building and national reconciliation initiatives; building the capacity of governing institutions and civil society groups to support the establishment of a functioning national government; improving the delivery of social services; and meeting humanitarian and early recovery needs.

Nigeria

The US Mission in Nigeria has announced that Nigeria will receive $27 million as part of a larger $536 million humanitarian aid package from the US Government to Sub-Saharan Africa.

DASFASD — Nigerian soldiers load a military truck with weapons recovered from bandits in north-central Nigeria on April 21. —Photo by AFP

This funding is part of the U.S. commitment to providing life-saving assistance and protection to vulnerable people and generous host communities throughout the continent. US Ambassador to Nigeria, Richard Mills, emphasized the impact of the new US Government funding: “This assistance will make a real difference in the lives of those most in need in Nigeria and across the Continent.”

Democratic Republic of Congo

The United States, through USAID, announced nearly $424 million in humanitarian and health assistance to address the ongoing catastrophe in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

DGAKADS — The US troops are expected to boost the army’s fight against ADF in the national parks of Virunga and Garamba [File: Alexis Huguet/AFP]

This includes $414 million in humanitarian assistance to support people experiencing persistent humanitarian needs resulting from conflict and displacement.

Afghanistan

The United States committed over $885 million in humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan in the 2024 fiscal year, according to a report by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR).