New York, February 5, 2025 – With a brief announcement on its website, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) has abruptly ended its role as the world’s largest donor to humanitarian activities that have assisted millions of at-risk people in over 130 countries. USAID, with an annual budget of $40 billion, also funded major UN humanitarian programs, but those money may dry out quickly.

On February 7, most of the more than 10,000 direct hire personnel will be placed on administrative leave globally. The announcement on the USAID website said simply, “Thank you for your service.”

“On Friday, February 7, 2025, at 11:59 pm (EST) all USAID direct hire personnel will be placed on administrative leave globally, with the exception of designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and specially designated programs. Essential personnel expected to continue working will be informed by Agency leadership by Thursday, February 6, at 3:00pm (EST),” the announcement said.

It said plans are being worked out to allow USAID personnel working overseas to return to the US within 30 days and their contracts with the agency will be terminated if it is determined that they are not essential.

The Trump administration has decided to withdraw from the World Health Organization, the UN Human Rights Council, the Paris Climate Agreement and is considering to exit the UN Population Fund and the UN Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization. It has stopped funding the Palestinian relief agency UNRWA.

UN humanitarians have decried the Trump administration’s funding pause of billions of dollars and warned of deadly consequences if life-saving assistance is terminated for millions of people. USAID has supported programs from education and development to health and environmental protection around the world for decades.

Pio Smith, the regional director for Asia and the Pacific of the UN Population Fund, told journalists in Geneva that his agency “has suspended services funded by US grants that provide a lifeline for women and girls in crises, including in South Asia” as a result of the US decision, UN News reported.

Smith warned that the absence of US financial support will likely result in 1,200 additional maternal deaths and 109,000 additional unintended pregnancies between 2025 and 2028 in Afghanistan. He said his agency was seeking “more clarity” from the administration “as to why our programs are being impacted, particularly those which we would hope would be exempt” on humanitarian grounds.

Jens Laerke, a spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said his agency’s country offices were “in close contact” with local US embassies to better understand how the situation will unfold, UN News said.

Laerke said the US government funded around 47 per cent of the global humanitarian appeal across the world last year; “that gives you an indication of how much it matters when we are in the situation we are in right now, with the messaging we’re getting from the government”.

 “Women give birth alone in unsanitary conditions,” Laerke said. “The risk of obstetric fistula is heightened, newborns die from preventable causes; survivors of gender-based violence have nowhere to turn for medical or psychological support.”

“We hope that the US Government will retain its position as a global leader in development and continue to work with UNFPA to alleviate the suffering of women and their families as a result of catastrophes they did not cause.”

UNFPA said the lack of US funds in Afghanistan will affect more than nine million people who are expected to lose access to health and protection services.

“Every two hours, a mother dies from preventable pregnancy complications, making Afghanistan one of the deadliest countries in the world for women to give birth. Without UNFPA’s support, even more lives will be lost at a time when the rights of Afghan women and girls are already being torn to pieces,” the agency said.

The agency said 1.7 million people in Pakistan, including 1.2 million Afghan refugees, will suffer from the USAID closure as these people will be cut off from lifesaving sexual and reproductive health services with the closure of over 60 health facilities. It said nearly 600,000 people in Bangladesh, including Rohingya refugees, face losing access to critical maternal and reproductive health services.

The agency said it needs more than $308 million to sustain essential services in Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan in 2025.

(By J. Tuyet Nguyen)

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