Donald Trump's administration has officially cut off funding for 5,800 USAID projects. Relevant notifications were massively sent from the State Department to refugee camps, tuberculosis treatment clinics, vaccination programs, and other humanitarian initiatives. This is reported by The New York Times, UNN.
Details
Among the terminated projects are programs to treat intravenous infections, fight malaria in the most affected African countries, and global efforts to fight polio. It is noted that the funding is being terminated “in the interest and convenience of the US government.
In particular, among the closed projects: a $131 million grant for UNICEF's polio immunization program, which paid for the planning, logistics, and delivery of vaccines to millions of children. Also terminated was a $90 million contract with Chemonics to supply mosquito nets, malaria tests, and treatment that were supposed to protect 53 million people.
In addition, the following projects were canceled:
- The FHI 360 program in Yemen is helping children with critical malnutrition.
- All operating expenses and 10% of the drug budget of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, the World Health Organization's main supply channel for anti-tuberculosis drugs, which last year provided TB treatment to nearly three million people.
- Elizabeth Glaser Foundation - HIV treatment in Lesotho, Tanzania, Eswatini. 87 shelters in South Africa for victims of violence.
- Plan International's program to provide water supply to 115,000 displaced people in Ethiopia.
- 80 million dollars - funding from the UN agency UNAIDS, which financed work to help countries improve HIV treatment.
Canceling funding for these programs will have serious consequences for millions of people in developing countries, the newspaper writes.
The mortality rate among HIV-infected patients is also expected to increase due to limited access to treatment.
“People are going to die! But we will never know, because even the death count programs have been suspended,” said Dr. Catherine Kiobutungi, Executive Director of the Center for Population and Health Research in Africa.
The termination of vaccination programs will lead to an increase in polio cases, and the restriction of malaria and tuberculosis control will threaten the lives of thousands of people. The closure of shelters for victims of violence will leave women and children unprotected, and the termination of water supply initiatives will worsen sanitary conditions in refugee camps.
The New York Times notes that the decision has sparked widespread criticism among international humanitarian organizations and human rights activists.
Recall
The US administration has decided to cut off funding for more than 90% of humanitarian and international programs.