Trump administration terminates aid programs to seven African countries: Report

The US Department of State has reportedly decided to terminate aid programs to seven African countries, claiming there is no strong connection between the humanitarian response and US national interests.

According to a report published by the news outlet The Atlantic on Monday, a year after the administration of President Donald Trump began the dismantlement of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), it is initiating a new round of significant cuts to foreign assistance.

This time, programs that survived the initial purge precisely because they were judged to be lifesaving are slated for cancellation.

According to an internal State Department email obtained by The Atlantic, the administration will soon end all of the humanitarian funding it is currently providing as part of a “responsible exit” from seven African nations, and redirect funding in nine others.

The seven nations losing aid entirely -- namely Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Malawi, Mali, Niger, Somalia, and Zimbabwe -- face some of the world’s most acute humanitarian crises.

The UN reports more than 6.2 million people across these countries are in “extreme or catastrophic” conditions.

Somalia, already suffering a severe drought, has seen hundreds of clinics and nutrition centers close following last year’s US cuts.

Doctors without Borders (MSF) reported a 44 percent increase in deaths among severely malnourished children under five in regional hospitals.

In Sudan, the humanitarian nonprofit organization Alight has shut 30 health clinics and 14 nutrition centers, leaving roughly 200,000 people without medical care, and more than 250 doctors and nurses unemployed.

The State Department framed the changes as a “responsible exit” with new health-financing agreements in some African countries, including Cameroon, Malawi, and five of the nine eligible for redirected funding.

These programs target disease control and system strengthening, yet ignore urgent hunger and displacement crises.

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Grants that previously supplied food, tuberculosis treatment, and emergency nutrition centers are ending even as malnutrition rates peak.

Critics say the US prioritizes political and economic gain over humanitarian need. Nations excluded from aid generally offer little strategic value or resources, while countries that can provide minerals or accept deportees are more likely to retain funding. For example, six of the seven nations losing aid, mine few minerals relevant to US technology industries, and only Cameroon has accepted US deportees.

The Trump administration has also sharply reduced contributions to the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

US funds now support only 17 countries, excluding those facing the severest crises. Eri Kaneko, OCHA spokesperson, warned that these restrictions threaten rapid aid distribution and “put lives at risk.”

Jocelyn Wyatt, CEO of Alight, said, “Cutting lifesaving aid in the midst of famine and war is morally indefensible.”

The US is abandoning millions of people to advance political interests, a senior humanitarian worker stated, adding, “This is not a policy for efficiency, it is a policy of indifference and political calculation.”

Since January 2025, 83 percent of USAID programs have been purged, and additional projects have been canceled during White House budget reviews.

Programs providing critical nutrition, emergency medical care, and support for displaced populations are now ending, leaving millions exposed to starvation, disease, and violence.

Reports from Somalia, Sudan, and other affected countries indicate that deaths are already occurring as a direct result of US aid withdrawal.

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