US President Donald Trump’s adviser and head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Elon Musk said on Monday that Trump had agreed to shut down USAID, the main agency for foreign assistance…reports Asian Lite News
The shutting down of USAID, a “critical partner” of the world organisation, will have an “immediate impact on lifesaving activities”, according to Stephane Dujarric, the spokesperson for United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
“USAID is a critical partner, the US is a critical and generous partner for the United Nations in humanitarian development work”, he said on Monday.
“This is having an immediate impact on lifesaving activities”, he said.
US President Donald Trump’s adviser and head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Elon Musk said on Monday that Trump had agreed to shut down USAID, the main agency for foreign assistance.
Dujarric said there’s “a lot of UN-US participation on development issues” and the UN was in touch with various agencies to assess the impact of USAID shutting down to “try to get a bit of clarity in a foggy environment”.
“The US has been extremely generous to our humanitarian programmes all over the world”, he said.
“The US contributed 47 per cent of the global humanitarian appeal, which amounts to up to about $14 billion”, he said.
According to the USAID inspector general’s report, $25 billion was allocated by USAID for the UN and its agencies during the five years between 2019 and 2024.
The World Food Programme, which helps people facing starvation because of conflicts, famines and natural disasters. was the main beneficiary during this period, with $16.8 billion allocated for it.
The UN Children’s Fund came next with a $2.7 billion allocation among the 20 UN agencies receiving aid.
Trump is sceptic on multilateral cooperation and has announced that the US would be withdrawing from the World Health Organisation which has an allocation of $868 million.
India to have minimal impact if USAID shuts
India will have a minimal impact if the Trump administration shuts the USAID programme.
President Donald Trump’s close adviser and the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Elon Musk announced on Monday that Trump has agreed to shut down the programme. In such a scenario it will have a minimal impact on India due to booming economic growth.
USAID began operating in India about 70 years ago, but India now has transformed from a mere aid recipient to its partner for “global impact” by helping other countries, especially in the Indo-Pacific region.
One of the goals of the Quad – India, the US, Japan and Australia – is to cooperate on development in the Indo-Pacific region to counter China’s influence through a more benevolent assistance programme, in contrast to Beijing’s predatory policies.
During the current fiscal year, India was to receive $140 million through USAID, a minuscule amount considering India’s overall budget of over $600 billion, an amount that has come down progressively, as India’s economy has surged.
In the 2024 fiscal year, the USAID allocation was $6.8 million for “government and civil society”; about $55 million for health; $18 million for environment, and $7.8 million for “social infrastructure”, according to the US government’s Foreign Assistance website.
The CDCS called India a “key partner” for the US Indo-Pacific Strategy, “a whole-of-government commitment to advancing a free and open, connected, prosperous, secure, and resilient” region.
“India plays an essential role” in achieving the US goals of improving “resilience to Health and Climate Threats” and fostering “Sustainable, Inclusive, Transparent Economic Growth”, it said.
Drafted under President Joe Biden, the plan also reflected his other priorities like climate change, and strengthening “democratic institutions to support good governance and human rights”.
The document laid out certain priorities that could have impinged internal matters.
“USAID/India seeks to transform structures, power dynamics, and policies through partnerships and active collaboration with a diverse group of actors,” it said.
“Such partnerships will include, but are not limited to, civil society, government, and the private sector, with a focus on continuous learning, the expansion of successful models in India and beyond, and phasing out when systemic change is achieved or can be adapted by others,” it added.
One of the examples of cooperation with India in the CDCS is the International Solar Alliance co-sponsored by India and the Coalition for Disaster Resilience Infrastructure.
India and USAID have also collaborated in training about 1,200 officials from Africa and Asia on agriculture technology.
All the pages relating to USAID on the US New Delhi embassy website and elsewhere have been scrubbed clean.
IANS retrieved some of the information from the versions archived independently on the Wayback Machine or those live on other US agencies’ websites.
Shutting USAID weakens US, helps adversaries: Democrats
Democrats have vowed to fight the shuttering of USAID, asserting it weakens the US and helps its adversaries.
They took aim at President Donald Trump’s adviser Elon Musk, the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), who announced the decision on Monday, questioning his authority.
“We are not going to let this injustice happen”, Senator Brian Schatz said on Monday in Washington with demonstrators holding up signs denouncing the closure of USAID.
“We are going to fight in every way we can, in the courts in public opinion, with the bully pulpit in the halls of Congress”, he said.
As China increases its aid and lending programmes around the world for its strategic interests, USAID is an important pillar of Washington’s efforts to counter it.
Senator Chris Van Hollen said Musk’s effort to shut down USAID is “an absolute gift to our adversaries, to Russia, to China, to Iran and others because aid is an essential instrument of US foreign policy and US national security policy”.
He quoted an X post by former Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev calling Musk closing down USAID a “smart move”.
About Musk’s connections to China, he cited former DOGE co-head Vivek Ramaswamy’s allegations that the Tesla boss was a China “puppet” who would respond to President Xi Jinping’s requests.
USAID’s work goes “hand-in-hand with our military to counter terrorism and to stabilise dangerous regions”, Representative Don Beyer said.
Congress created USAID in 1961 and “it’s a matter for Congress to deal with, not an unelected billionaire oligarch that is Elon Musk”, Schatz said.
USAID’s work goes “hand-in-hand with our military to counter terrorism and to stabilise dangerous regions”, Representative Don Beyer said.
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