Trump's ending of 90% of USAID foreign aid contracts slams programs around the world

CE TOWN, South Africa — Health groups and non-governmental organizations expressed surprise and outrage Thursday and said many humanitarian programs would collapse after the Trump administration's decision to cut 90% of USAID's foreign aid contracts. The move, barely a month after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 90-day review of spending, will permanently defund programs across the world that fight hunger and disease and provide other life-saving help for millions.

“Women and children will go hungry, food will rot in warehouses while families starve, children will be born with HIV — among other tragedies,” said the InterAction group, an alliance of NGOs in the United States that work on aid programs across the world. “This needless suffering will not make America safer, stronger, or more prosperous. Rather, it will breed instability, migration, and desperation.”

Organizations that receive funding from the United States Agency for International Development, or USAID, had received letters advising of the termination of their funding and programs overnight, people who spoke on condition of anonymity said. The Trump administration announced Wednesday it was stopping some $60 billion in overall aid and assistance around the world because it didn't advance American interests.