Downsizing USAID: Which African countries suffer?

A presidential executive order signed by President John F. Kennedy on November 3, 1961, established the U.S. agency for international development. In his 1961 inaugural address, he boldly stated, “To those people in the huts and villages of half the globe struggling to break the bonds of mass misery… we pledge our best efforts to help them help themselves.”

An organization dedicated to long-term development, and the vision to invest in vital sectors to help nations become self-sufficient, were part of the vision. USAID operates in over 100 countries. It is the world’s most powerful agency that invigorates and supports most domestic agencies in the areas of health, humanitarian assistance, democratic governance, education and gender equity.

Is the Trump Administration unaware of these still actively trending values? Have the Americans forgotten the accomplishments of their foreign aid all over the world, especially in Africa? Which African nations are the hardest hit by USAID's funding freeze? Has the vision behind U.S. foreign aids failed? Where did it go wrong?

From inauguration day, January 20, 2025, the Trump administration supposedly planned a destructive attack to be unleashed on USAID with Executive Order 14169. On July 1, 2025, USAID was frozen and officially brought under State Department control. About 5,200 USAID contracts were terminated, and staff members shrank from over 10,000 personnel to about 300 essential members.

Authors Dexter Harrow & Margot Ellison published a detailed work about the recent shrinking of USAID's global presence and influence in the book titled “The Fall of USAID: How America's Foreign Aid Giant Became a Deep State Liability.” This book details the history of USAID and the foresight behind the organization. It leaves no stone unturned as it leads a reader through the rapid changes that have occurred over the years within the development agency. The authors delve into the origin and the journey of how the organization digressed from a mere development agency to a political agency being manipulated by the elites and the deep states until the Trump administration.

Overdependence on USAID funding is a problem for many nations. A donor-dependent country relies heavily on external aid to finance health, education, infrastructure, and governance. 88.5% of HIV prevention funding in Malawi comes from PEPFAR/USAID funding; Mozambique is 81.8% dependent on USAID Mercy Arms for HIV prevention. In 2024, Mozambique received about $324 million and invested about $136 million in their health program. 65% of HIV/AIDS in Zimbabwe’s expenses come from donor funding. Without USAID funding, the health sectors of South Sudan, Somalia, CAR, and Guinea-Bissau are in a state of chaos. The red lines of danger are in DR Congo, Sierra Leone, and East African countries such as Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. These countries are recorded to be heavily dependent on PEPFAR/USAID funding.

To the question: Has the vision behind U.S. foreign aids failed? Where did it go wrong?

Many years ago, author Gillian J. Buckley, in the book “Investing in Global Health Systems,” emphasized the enhancing enduring health systems to promote global security. Investing in sustainable global health systems may be one way to assist developing countries that are afflicted by poverty.

Most currently, author Kenneth Kalu did not mince words but boldly maintained that foreign aid in the USAID form was incapable of procuring sustainable development nor the eradication of poverty. The book “Foreign Aid and the Future of Africa” while exploring a multi-country case study research opportunity bemoans Africa’s dependence on foreign aid because of sustained poverty, unequal distribution of access to resource management and economic and sociopolitical anomalies over the past five decades. The author maintains that this aid cannot make any African country independent and self-reliant.

Watch out for Article 2 of: “USAID Funding Freeze: The brazen call for a global surge of HIV/AIDS”

Get these eBooks and Media from the Apple Store, Follow Links:

Dexter Harrow & Margot Ellison [2025], The Fall of USAID: How America's Foreign Aid Giant Became a Deep State Liability (Unabridged)

Link: https://apple.co/4f656WR

Gillian J. Buckley [2014] Investing in Global Health Systems

Link: https://apple.co/3GJOpU9

Kenneth Kalu [2018] Foreign Aid and the Future of Africa

Link: https://apple.co/40bv0SM

President Mahama Signals Budget Adjustments Following USAID Funding Freeze and Plans for Increased Youth Employment

Podcast Episode ∙ Daily News ∙ 2025 ∙ 54 minutes, 58 seconds

Link: https://apple.co/3I8wAi7

USAID Funding Freeze: How Does It Impact Healthcare?