THE decision by US President Donald Trump to suspend foreign aid has triggered a humanitarian crisis in Africa, forcing critical health programmes to shut down and leaving millions at risk. The freeze, which includes a 90-day suspension of all USAID-funded programmes, has already disrupted HIV treatment, tuberculosis care, and nutrition support in multiple countries, according to a report by AFP.
The impact is being felt most severely in HIV prevention and treatment efforts, with experts warning that the sudden halt could lead to thousands of preventable deaths.
HIV patients left without treatment
One of the most affected programmes is PEPFAR (the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief), which currently provides anti-retroviral treatment to over 20 million HIV patients and supports 270,000 health workers across the continent.
According to an analysis by the Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR), PEPFAR helps 679,936 pregnant women living with HIV, reducing the risk of mother-to-child transmission. However, with the freeze in place, amfAR estimates that within 90 days, nearly 136,000 babies could contract HIV due to disrupted treatments.
Despite assurances from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that ‘life-saving treatments’ would be exempt, aid workers told AFP that facilities have already shut down, leaving patients stranded.
‘As we speak, nothing is going on,’ said Aghan Daniel, head of a USAID-funded Kenyan health journalism team, in an interview with AFP.
Daniel highlighted the MOSAIC (Maximizing Options to Advance Informed Choice for HIV Prevention) project, which tests new HIV drugs and vaccines. With funding halted, patients undergoing experimental treatments have been left in limbo, potentially worsening their health conditions.
Wider impact
The aid suspension has also affected other life-saving health initiatives, including tuberculosis, cholera prevention, and malnutrition treatment programmes, AFP reports.
A staff member at a USAID-funded health program in Kenya described the decision as ‘a bombshell’ that has sent aid workers into panic mode.
‘We will have more people succumbing to these diseases,’ the source told AFP.
In Ethiopia, AFP journalists witnessed staff clearing out their desks at a USAID office in Addis Ababa, as organisations struggle to pay rent and salaries. Some employees have been placed on compulsory unpaid leave, while nutrition and vaccine distribution efforts remain uncertain.
Elon Musk and the political fallout
The suspension of aid comes amid billionaire Elon Musk’s public criticism of USAID, boasting that he is putting the agency ‘through the woodchipper’. Musk, a close ally of Trump, has long argued that foreign aid should be reduced, questioning its efficiency.
While Trump and his administration claim the freeze is aimed at reviewing US foreign aid spending, humanitarian organisations say that this abrupt suspension is causing real-world harm.
‘Stopping these programs, even for a few days, could mean the difference between life and death,’ an aid worker told AFP.
A humanitarian crisis that could have been avoided
Aid workers and analysts believe the impact of the freeze could have been mitigated with proper planning and notice.
‘We already have too many emergencies in the world—we didn’t need to add another one,’ Daniel told AFP.
With millions relying on US aid for healthcare, food, and security, the next few months will determine the long-term consequences of this policy shift.
Will the Trump administration reconsider its stance, or will African nations and global donors be forced to find urgent alternatives?
