DIKWA, Nigeria (AP) — Under the dappled light of a thatched shelter, Yagana Bulama cradles her surviving infant. The other twin is gone, a casualty of malnutrition and the international funding cuts that are snapping the lifeline for displaced communities in Nigeria’s insurgency-ravaged Borno state.

The Trump Administration’s dismantling of USAID has done more than cut off life-saving humanitarian assistance. It has also eliminated funding for environmental protection and conservation work in dozens of countries, with many programs now being forced to shut down.

In today’s newsletter: The US aid agency has been a lifeline for developing nations since the 1960s – its destruction is already having huge consequences around the world

NGOs warn of ‘some difficult years’ ahead as increasing humanitarian needs meet shrinking finances

They are debilitating afflictions that people don’t know about, don’t understand and struggle to pronounce. Now health workers fear they will surge in Africa as USAID-funded drug distribution programmes are cut

Fears of surge in malnutrition, measles, malaria and polio as 206 World Health Organization facilities forced to close

Brooke Nichols has launched online tracking tools that capture estimated increases in mortality and disease spread for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and other diseases as a result of the near-total freeze in US foreign aid funding and programming.

Alternative strategies to sustain progress on economic development, education investment, and disease responses

Since early February, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has been essentially disbanded, experiencing mass layoffs and the forced closure of its headquarters in Washington, D.C.. This follows President Donald Trump’s executive order, which halted all foreign assistance payments for 90 days, along with his administration’s narrative that the agency is plagued with fraud and programs that undermine national interests. Although this idea has continued to spread, the reality is that USAID is an important agency, both domestically and internationally. As United States foreign assistance funding constitutes a significant percentage of worldwide foreign aid, shutting down these programs jeopardizes the health and safety of various countries and communities but also poses issues for American citizens who work alongside these assistance efforts.

Ethiopia was the largest recipient of US aid assistance in sub-Saharan Africa before Donald Trump froze funding last month. From food and health to support for refugees and sexual abuse survivors, we examine the impact of a decision that has left aid organisations scrambling

ROME, 10 February 2025 – Caritas strongly condemns the reckless decision by the U.S. Administration to abruptly close USAID funded programmes and offices worldwide.

International aid organizations are warning that humanitarian efforts in Gaza would be severely impacted if the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is shut down by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency.