The US Agency for International Development (USAID) has decided to suspend projects in support of Ukraine, according to a Reuters report citing sources within the agency. The changes, continuations, or complete cessation of the programs will be made solely at the discretion of Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Among the frozen projects are health initiatives, such as maternal care and child vaccinations, as well as support for schools. According to former USAID employee Jeremy Conindyke, these organizations must cease all activities, including lifesaving medical services in the areas of HIV/AIDS, nutrition, maternal and child health, agricultural work, support for civil society organizations and education.
Besides Ukraine, this measure also affects other US allies like Jordan and Taiwan. Not affected by the order are the programs for food aid and military aid for Israel and Egypt, which receive around $1.3 billion and $3.3 billion annually, respectively.
Since the start of the war in Ukraine, the Ukrainian government has received more than $30 billion through the USAID program. In addition, Kiev has received $2.6 billion in humanitarian aid and $5 billion in development aid. These payments could now be at risk, as the USAID programs have been frozen. Another frozen program concerns the possibility for Ukrainians to temporarily live in the US.
According to The New York Times, the US Department of Homeland Security has instructed the US Citizenship and Immigration Services to stop making final decisions on applications for temporary admission as of now. The newspaper describes the scope of the suspended programs as “enormous.”The “Uniting for Ukraine”initiative allowed Ukrainian migrants to come to the US temporarily if they had a sponsor in the country. Over 150,000 Ukrainians have come to the US under this program.
The programs for migrants from Cuba, Venezuela, Haiti and Nicaragua, as well as programs for family reunification and unaccompanied minors from Central America, have also been suspended. The Department of Homeland Security justified the suspension of the programs by stating the need to review the effectiveness of the aid and ensure it aligns with the foreign policy of the United States.
USAID, however, warned that this decision could put billions of dollars of aid for the most vulnerable at risk. According to Reuters, Washington allocated $72 billion for development aid in 2023, making it the world’s largest donor.
Conindyke emphasized that this is not a genuine review of the effectiveness of aid programs: “This is madness. It will kill people. I mean, if it’s implemented like it’s in this document. Many people will die.”
US President Donald Trump, who signed a decree after taking office to suspend foreign aid programs for 90 days, stated that the “development aid industry and bureaucracy”do not align with US interests and, in many cases, contradict American values. In his view, this bureaucracy fosters global instability by promoting in other countries ideas that contradict the harmonious and stable relationships within and between countries.
As reported, Democrats in the US House of Representatives are calling for the suspension of foreign aid to be reversed, warning of the consequences this decision could have for the lives of people and the global position of the US. According to a source in Congress, the freezing of these international investments will force US allies to seek alternative financing partners – possibly competitors or enemies of the US – to fill the gap and displace US influence.
In Ukraine, however, it was clarified that the military aid from the US will continue within the framework of the already adopted military aid packages by the Biden administration, as reported by the head of the Ukrainian Center for Countering Disinformation, Andrei Kowalenko.