USAID: dismantling the U.S. agency jeopardizes international solidarity efforts

How USAID suspension affects Action Against Hunger

On February 7, the Trump administration placed all USAID staff on administrative leave, signaling an unprecedented halt to international aid managed by the agency and a potential transfer of it to the State Department.

On February 26, the Trump administration announced it was cutting more than 90% of USAID’s foreign funding (a figure revised downwards to 83% on March 13). Nearly 5,800 grants awarded worldwide by the US aid agency were cancelled. Just under 900 were retained.

The United States was by far the biggest contributor to global humanitarian aid, providing an estimated $64 billion in 2024, or 42% of all humanitarian aid worldwide. In crises such as the DRC, US funding accounted for 70% of the total humanitarian response.

Impact on our projets

After 6 months of suspension, the status of some of our projects is still unclear. Some have been definitively cancelled, while for others, we have received authorizations to resume work, but without having received any payment of the sums due during the suspension. In the case of Action contre la Faim France alone, of the 20 US-funded contracts in progress, we have received 11 authorizations to resume work. Of these 11 authorizations, we have received only partial payments for a number of projects for the year 2024. Without full payment of the amounts due, Action contre la Faim is not in a position to fully resume its activities with vulnerable populations. 

For the moment, we are only able to resume our activities on a limited basis in Burkina Faso and the DRC. 

Even in the countries where we will be able to resume our activities, the impact of the suspension of US aid will continue to be felt. Some NGOs and UN agencies have had their contracts terminated, and coverage of needs is declining, while requirements are stable or, as in the DRC, have increased with the worsening of the crisis since the beginning of the year. 

The temporary suspension of projects, even those for which we have received authorization to resume, has had an immediate impact on populations.

• In Madagascar, where we had been conducting a multi-sectoral emergency response to the severe drought crisis in the south and south-east since August 2022 and which was due to end in May 2025, in the absence of funding disbursements, we had to close several bases in the south of the country and let go 200 staff.

Among the projects cancelled, contrary to what was announced by the US donor, were lifesaving programs, i.e. programs with a direct and immediate impact on the survival of populations: 

• In Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province, ravaged by eight years of armed conflict and massive displacement, more than 17,000 people are now deprived of food aid, non-food kits, seeds, as well as the rehabilitation of water points and latrines – particularly in the Macomia district, one of the hardest hit by conflict-related food insecurity. In addition, cyclone-affected communities will no longer receive the urgent support they used to receive, notably through the distribution of essential goods.  This abrupt halt means that over 30 staff members have lost their contracts, considerably reducing our capacity to intervene, including in areas where we were the only humanitarian actor present to provide emergency supplies (Macomia). The abrupt cessation of activities and the absence of a progressive transition plan or handover of assets leaves communities without alternatives, exposing them to increased risks of epidemics and malnutrition, and jeopardizing the gains made in terms of resilience and community cohesion in an already fragile region. 

• In Jordan, where 695 families, i.e. 3,475 people, Syrian refugees or vulnerable Jordanian families from the host community, will not receive the planned monetary aid. This aid, as part of a social protection project, should enable these households to meet their basic expenses and break with negative survival mechanisms such as debt, non-use of medical services or food deprivation.

The lack of funding threatens to exacerbate the humanitarian crisis in these and many other regions.

In this situation, the collaboration of caring people is crucial to continuing these vital projects. Without USAID’s support, the only way to continue providing assistance to those who need it most is to call on donations and solidarity actions from the international community.