Trump's aid freeze triggers education and health crisis in Africa
The suspension of U.S. participation in international humanitarian aid for Africa by President Trump has resulted in a tragedy for millions of people on the continent, writes the Spanish agency EFE in its Tuesday dispatch from Nairobi.
- Students complain that classes are being canceled because there are very few teachers remaining in the schools, and without them, the future of the youth is uncertain - says Morris James, a teacher from southern Sudan working at a school supported by a Finnish church organization in northern Kenya.
Trump halted funding: Concerns over the consequences
According to James, Trump's decision to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has led to a drastic reduction in food and medicine supplies available to aid agencies in Africa.
If alternative sources of funding cannot be secured, the Finnish aid organization Finn Church Aid (FCA), operating in the refugee camp in Kalobeyei, northern Kenya, will be forced to lay off at least half of its 330 teachers, and the student-to-teacher ratio will increase from the current 100 to 230.
These are just some examples of the consequences of dismantling USAID for Africa. In 2023, Washington provided about one-quarter of total development aid to Africa, offered by member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
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USAID was an independent federal agency established in 1961 and was the largest state aid institution in the world. Its budget exceeded $50 billion, accounting for 0.7% of the federal budget. It operated in more than 100 countries worldwide.
"It's an absolute disaster"
- It's an absolute disaster. People are dying of hunger, and they don't have the money to buy essential medicines. They have lost access to vital medications, medical services, and potable water. Nothing is functioning - says a worker from an international aid organization operating in Sudan, a country in civil war since April 2023.
Binyam Gebru, director of the Somali branch of Save the Children, says in an interview with EFE that the dismantling of USAID led to the closure of three out of every four of the 121 children's hospitals in this African country.
In Ethiopia, the country that received the most aid in 2023 under USAID - after it was withdrawn by President Trump - the Ministry of Health was forced to lay off more than 5,000 medical staff members. In Zimbabwe, since March of this year, there has been a monthly shortfall of $17 million for maintaining medical clinics and hospitals.
