Trump administration freezes foreign development aid

The American external aid will be in pause, except key programs for survival, while the administration of President Donald Trump reviews this assistance to see what fits the “First United States” policy of the president.

The Trump administration has ordered a three -month break in almost all foreign aid for development, waiting for a review to determine what fits the policy of the “United States first” president. Help groups and human rights surveillance agencies warn that this freezing funds will put countless lives worldwide.

The United States is the world's largest humanitarian assistance and a world leader in the prevention and treatment of HIV through the President's emergency plan program for AIDS relief, or Pepfar. In fiscal year 2023, the US spent just under 70,000 million dollars in development assistance, most through the United States Agency for International Development, or USAID.

A few hours after assuming the position last week, President Donald Trump suspended all food assistance, except for the most urgent, as part of his mission to realize the exterior position of the country with his first United States policy. Its executive order suspends the new obligations and disbursements of development assistance funds for 90 days while reviewing.

The measure caused questions in the American and international aid community, in the United Nations and in the corridors of the Capitol.

The Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, announced in a memorandum on Tuesday freezing exemptions. These include medications that save lives, medical services, food, accommodation and subsistence assistance.

“This exemption does not apply to activities that involve abortions, family planning conferences, administrative costs … Gender ideology programs (diversity, equity and inclusion), transgender surgeries or other assistance that does not save lives,” said the memorandum.

On Tuesday, Jim Risch, president of the Senate Foreign Relations Commission, used a weekly press conference to present Trump's measure as a way of promoting greater transparency, while regretting that he had previously been difficult for the committee Information from government agencies.

The State Department issued an extensive explanation about the order, which he said seeks to ensure that the programs are “efficient and consisting of US foreign policy under the United States agenda first.”

“President Trump clearly said that the United States will no longer distribute blind money without any benefit to the American people,” reads the statement of the state department spokeswoman, Tammy Bruce. “Reviewing and realineing foreign assistance on behalf of taxpayers who work hard is not just the right thing, it is a moral imperative.”

The exceptions, Bruce continued, include foreign military financing for Israel and Egypt and emergency food assistance. The memorandum also provided “examples of this atrocious financing”, which included expenses as large as 102 million dollars to finance the work of the non -profit organization of humanitarian aid International Medical Corps in Gaza, beaten by the war, and so relatively small as “$ 612,000 to finance technical assistance to family planning in Latin America”.

The White House also presented its justification for a similar measure that suspends national subsidies and loans as of Tuesday, although press secretary Karoline Leavitt could not clarify which national programs are in pause.

“In the last four years, we have seen the Biden administration spend money as drunk sailors,” he said. “It is a great reason why we have had an inflation crisis in this country. And it is the responsibility of this administration to ensure, once again, that each penny is given honestly.”

The White House did not respond to the request for the Voice of America Of more details about which foreign assistance programs would be affected. But in matters of world public health, Trump's position is clear: he also announced on his first day in the position that would retire from the World Health Organization, citing concerns that the United States is being “cheated” as the biggest donor of the organization. He did the same during his first term.

While orders for suspension of work are implemented in programs financed by the United , business development and the supply of HIV drugs funded by the United States, that the officials of the administration of former president Joe Biden called a “key pillar” of Washington's relations with the developing world.

“The Secretary General observes with concern the announcement of a pause in the foreign assistance of the United States,” said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the United Nations Secretary General. “A call for additional exemptions to guarantee the continuity of fundamental humanitarian and development activities for the most vulnerable communities around the world. Those lives and livelihood depend on that support. ”

Last year, the largest USAID project provided 14,000 million dollars in macroeconomic assistance to Ukraine, something fundamental, kyiv said, to support its population while defending a Russian invasion.

“There are real concerns about the immediate impact of an order of suspension of work on foreign assistance,” said Esther Brimmer, principal researcher James H. Binger in global governance on the Foreign Relations Council. “We must remember that foreign assistance includes humanitarian projects related to vaccine administration, for example, children around the world to ensure that they do not contract contagious diseases.”

Human Rights Defense Organizations assured that they host with satisfaction a solid accountability on the funds of US taxpayers, but not that assistance is stopped during the review.

“If you want to review all the assistance, begin your review,” said Nicole Widdersheim, deputy director in Washington of Human Rights Watch.

“He wants to be the president who restores the influence of the United States worldwide and also helps the United States to prosper,” said Widdersheim, referring to Trump. “You will not be able to prosper if you are not going to help a country out of the conflict, if you are not going to help a country to become democratic and have reliable institutions that work and protect the money from investors and have a good business climate established and a good environment to invest in doing business and trade. I mean, that is the final result of development assistance. ”

And the impact was also directly felt on Tuesday. In Johannesburg, South Africa, the workers of the many HIV organizations financed by the United States of the city woke up with orders to cease work.

“I never thought I would wake up in the morning and they would tell me that they would prohibit me from going to work,” a health worker told an important newspaper by Johannesburg. He identified only as Mary, for fear of an impact.

“I am breaking my hypocratic oath of not harming and doing good,” he continued. “I'm not there, what is damaging people … and I take that oath very seriously.”

(Kim Lewis collaborated with this report. With information for this story I came from Reuters)