The United States has officially scrapped 83% of its foreign aid programs under the US Agency for International Development (USAID), Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Monday.......CONTINUE READING THE ARTICLE FROM THE SOURCE>>>>>
The decision follows an executive order signed by President Donald Trump in January, which froze all US foreign aid pending a review.
The move aligns with Trump’s “America First” agenda, which seeks to limit spending on programs deemed unnecessary for US national interests.
“After a six-week review, we are officially cancelling 83% of the programs at USAID.
“The 5,200 contracts that are now cancelled spent tens of billions of dollars in ways that did not serve, and in some cases even harmed, the core national interests of the United States”, Rubio stated on the social media platform X. ”
USAID, which provides humanitarian aid and runs health and emergency relief programs in approximately 120 countries, is now facing a dramatic scale-back.
The State Department had previously signaled its intention to cut 92% of USAID’s program funding, identifying 5,800 grants for elimination.
Rubio also expressed gratitude to the Department of Government Efficiency, which billionaire Elon Musk leads as part of an effort to slash costs and cut jobs across various government agencies.
Trump and his allies have long criticized foreign assistance as wasteful, arguing that it does little to advance American interests.
However, aid organisations warn that these cuts could destabilize vulnerable regions and undermine global health initiatives that indirectly benefit the US.
Analysts have pointed out that the sweeping reductions mark one of the most significant shake-ups in US foreign aid policy in recent history, with potentially far-reaching consequences for international humanitarian efforts.
