The State Division has moved to squeeze lifesaving international help dramatically for international locations all over the world, in line with a number of U.S. officers acquainted with the matter.
The most recent cuts embody the termination of all remaining U.S. Company for Worldwide Improvement contracts supporting the supply of meals, water and medication to populations in Afghanistan and Yemen, the cancellation of the biggest World Meals Programme (WFP) contract for Somalia, and the termination of a number of awards that funded the supply of essential help in Syria and Lebanon, three officers instructed ABC Information.
A USAID flag flutters exterior, because the USAID constructing sits closed to workers after a memo was issued advising company personnel to work remotely, in Washington, D.C., February 3, 2025.
Kent Nishimura/Reuters
Jordan, Haiti, Gaza, Niger, Palau and Papua New Guinea, in addition to a number of different international locations and main help teams, additionally noticed vital lifesaving help contracts terminated in latest days, they added.
The most recent spherical of cuts to assist totals over $1.3 billion, in line with OneAID, a grassroots advocacy group made up of former and present USAID specialists and companions.
It additionally marks an obvious reversal for the State Division, which beforehand granted exemptions for the funding to proceed after the Trump administration’s sweeping discount in U.S. international help prompted widespread backlash.
State Division spokeswoman Tammy Bruce confirmed throughout a press briefing on Tuesday that the USA had eradicated many contracts.
Nevertheless, she argued nearly all of funding to the WFP had not been affected, saying, “To start with, 85% of beforehand present USAID applications with the World Meals Program worldwide stay energetic and ongoing. So it’s inaccurate, as some have intimated, that USAID has defunded the World Meals Program … or that we have broadly backed away from our commitments to offering lifesaving meals help.”
She did word that some WFP applications had been terminated “based mostly on particular nation or program-level priorities.”
“The most important group of World Meals Programme awards terminated have been in Yemen and Afghanistan via an govt order that was issued based mostly on concern that the funding was benefiting terrorist teams, together with the Houthis and the Taliban,” she mentioned. “Different awards have been terminated as a result of they offered cash-based help, which the administration is transferring away from, given considerations about misuse and lack of acceptable accountability for American taxpayers right here at dwelling.”
The WFP confirmed on Monday that the U.S. authorities had knowledgeable the group that funding for emergency meals help in 14 international locations had been terminated.
“If carried out, this might quantity to a loss of life sentence for hundreds of thousands of individuals dealing with excessive starvation and hunger,” the WFP mentioned in an announcement. “We’re involved with the US administration to hunt clarification and to induce for continued assist for these life-saving programmes.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks with reporters on his airplane whereas flying from Suriname en path to Miami, Mar. 27, 2025.
Nathan Howard/Reuters
ABC Information reached out to the State Division for touch upon the cuts however didn’t obtain a response.
It is unclear what motivated the most recent spherical of funding cancellations, however one official mentioned they have been ordered by Jeremy Lewin, the USAID deputy administrator for coverage who beforehand labored with Elon Musk’s Division of Authorities Effectivity to dismantle the company.
The official additionally mentioned most of the applications hit by the most recent cuts have been lately granted hiring privileges or had spending modifications to their contracts accredited by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
These particular permissions have been considered as a sign that State Division management considered the work as important for fulfilling its mission of delivering “core life-saving medication, medical providers, meals, shelter, and subsistence help” amid the Trump administration’s assessment of all international help spending.
Bruce added in her press briefing that some awards had been inadvertently eradicated however that that they had since been restored, although she declined to offer any particulars.
“There have been just a few applications that have been reduce in different international locations that weren’t meant to be reduce, which have been rolled again and put into place,” Bruce mentioned.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio appears on as U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (not pictured) within the Oval Workplace on the White Home in Washington, April 7, 2025.
Kevin Mohatt/Reuters
Shortly after returning to the White Home in January, President Donald Trump ordered all a freeze on all international help for 90 days, resulting in a flurry of stop-work orders and hiring freezes affecting a broad vary of humanitarian help work.
Since then, the Trump administration has moved to cancel some $60 billion value of international help grants and contracts, however senior officers like Rubio have promised that essentially the most important help would proceed.
“This isn’t about eliminating help. That is about restructuring how we’ll do help,” Rubio mentioned final month.
