US suspends new funds for aid programmes, excepting Israel and Egypt

With the exception of Israel and Egypt, the administration of US President Donald Trump has announced a freeze on nearly all new funding for foreign assistance programs.

The US State Department’s Friday order also includes provisions for emergency food programs, but not for health programs, which supporters claim offer crucial, life-saving services.

In a memo that was recently confirmed, newly appointed Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged senior officials to “ensure that no new obligations shall be made for foreign assistance to the maximum extent permitted by law.”

Concerned that the directive might lead to more world instability and humanitarian suffering, humanitarian organizations immediately expressed their concern.

“By suspending foreign development assistance, the Trump administration is threatening the lives and futures of communities in crisis, and abandoning the United States ‘ long-held bipartisan approach to foreign assistance which supports people based on need, regardless of politics”, Abby Maxman, head of Oxfam America, said in a statement.

The temporary freeze is expected to last at least three months. In the first 85 days, Rubio is expected to make “decisions whether to continue, modify, or terminate programs”, according to the memo.

The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, also known as PEPFAR, is one of the health initiatives that is anticipated to see a funding freeze.

PEPFAR, which was established in 2003 under the leadership of George W. Bush, enjoyed widespread bipartisan support for 20 years before Congress missed a deadline to renew its funding in 2023. Its funding got a one-year extension through March 2025, but that is set to expire within the three-month window.

Since its inception, PEPFAR has saved up to 25 million lives, according to experts.

Aid to Israel and Egypt, two of the most important recipients of US military aid, is unaffected by the freeze.

Both nations have faced criticism for their human rights records, and requests to use US aid to fund significant reforms have been made.

The waivers for “foreign military financing for Israel and Egypt and administrative expenses, including salaries, necessary, foreign military financing,” made a special mention in the Friday memo.

Ukraine, which largely relies on US weapons assistance in its fight against a Russian full-scale invasion launched in February 2022, had no idea of a similar exemption.

In 2023, the US received more than $60 billion in foreign aid than any other nation combined.

However, that sum makes up about 1% of US government expenditures. In the aftermath of Friday’s memo, some aid projects around the world received work-stop orders.

“This is lunacy”, said Jeremy Konyndyk, a former official for the US Agency for International Development (USAID).