Specialists say Trump administration’s order to halt overseas help will ‘value many, many lives’.
The top of the United Nations has expressed concern about President Donald Trump’s choice to pause overseas help from the US as his administration promotes its “America First” agenda.
Throughout a information convention on Monday, a spokesman for Antonio Guterres stated the UN secretary-general had famous the coverage change “with concern”.
“He calls for added exemptions to be thought of to make sure the continued supply of essential growth and humanitarian actions for probably the most weak communities all over the world,” Stephane Dujarric informed reporters.
“These lives and livelihoods rely upon this help,” stated Dujarric, including that the US is “one of many largest assist suppliers” on the planet.
“We’re presently mapping out what [the Trump administration’s decision] means and the impression that it could have.”
Trump signed an executive order shortly after he was sworn in for a second time period on January 20, ordering all federal authorities companies to enact a 90-day pause on overseas growth help and to evaluation present programmes.
“It’s the coverage of United States that no additional United States overseas help shall be disbursed in a fashion that isn’t absolutely aligned with the overseas coverage of the President of the US,” the order reads.
Days later, the US State Division said in a memo that it was suspending virtually all new funding for overseas assist programmes with exceptions for the nation’s prime Center East allies, Israel and Egypt.
The order on Friday additionally included an exemption for emergency meals help and associated bills.
“President Trump acknowledged clearly that the US is now not going to blindly dole out cash with no return for the American folks,” the division stated in a statement on Sunday defending the measures.
The assertion additionally affirmed newly confirmed Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s help for the Trump-led coverage.
“Reviewing and realigning overseas help on behalf of hardworking taxpayers is not only the suitable factor to do, it’s a ethical crucial. The Secretary is proud to guard America’s funding with a deliberate and even handed evaluation of how we spend overseas help {dollars} abroad.”
However consultants have slammed the Trump administration’s choice, saying it is going to have disastrous penalties for folks all over the world.
A worldwide stop-work order on overseas assist will value many, many lives if stored in place.As written, it halts ALL ongoing humanitarian reduction actions, besides meals assist, in locations like Syria, Sudan, Gaza.Additionally halts all international well being applications.What it will imply in human phrases:
t.co/1nCjZFfBdS
— Jeremy Konyndyk (@jeremykonyndyk.bsky.social) 2025-01-25T03:33:26.842Z
Michael Schiffer, who served because the assistant administrator of the US Company for Worldwide Growth’s (USAID) Asia bureau from 2022 to 2025, stated stopping overseas assist — even briefly — may have “apparent, predictable outcomes”.
“Youngsters will die. Our nationwide safety will erode. America’s alliances will endure. US companions can be in danger. And America’s enemies will rejoice,” Schiffer warned in a column for the web site Simply Safety.
Jeremy Konyndyk, president of Refugees Worldwide and an ex-USAID official beneath former Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama, additionally stated “a world stop-work order on overseas assist will value many, many lives if stored in place”.
Konyndyk famous that US overseas help goes to addressing famine in Sudan, supporting refugees in Africa and Asia, and funding HIV/AIDS remedy programmes all over the world.
“It’s no exaggeration by any means to say that following by on this coverage will kill lots of people,” he wrote on social media.
“It should additionally shred US international credibility in a lot of the world, the place our help applications are an enormous share of our nation partnerships.”
