The United States government has officially ended 83% of the programmes run by the United States Agency for International Development and cancelled 5,200 contracts previously awarded by the agency.
This was announced by the U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, on Monday. He said the decision came after a six-week review of the agency’s activities, conducted in partnership with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.
“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.
He added, “In consultation with Congress, we intend for the remaining 18% of programmes we are keeping, approximately 1,000, to be administered more effectively under the State Department.”
The move follows President Donald Trump’s earlier suspension of all foreign assistance and a stop-work order on USAID’s activities, raising global concerns.
In Nigeria, the impact has already been felt. Clinics and research centres have shut down since Trump signed an executive order on January 20, cutting off funding for several health, education, and humanitarian relief projects.
Many developing countries in Africa, which rely heavily on U.S. foreign aid, have expressed alarm over the cuts.
Meanwhile, the U.S. stock market reacted negatively to the news, with the S&P 500 dropping by over three per cent on Monday. The market slump deepened after Trump refused to rule out a recession when asked about the impact of his trade policies.
The trade situation has further escalated as the Canadian province of Ontario imposed retaliatory tariffs on energy exports to Michigan, Minnesota, and New York, while China also began placing tariffs on American farm products.
The U.S. government says the changes to USAID funding are part of efforts to streamline foreign assistance and prioritise national interests.
