Is Trump aid policy right?

• Trump’s escalating aid cuts are crippling global humanitarian efforts, with the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) now forced to shut its southern Africa office.
• The closure threatens food assistance for millions, as WFP has been leading the response to the region’s worst drought in 40 years.
• With USAID slashing 90% of foreign aid contracts and WFP facing a 40% budget cut, 26 million people across seven countries are at risk of severe hunger.

The escalating U.S. aid cuts under President Donald Trump are impacting millions worldwide, exposing the extent to which American taxpayers have been funding global aid. This raises a critical question: Is Trump’s decision justified?

His administration’s aggressive push to reduce foreign aid—led by the so-called Department of Efficiency in Government—continues to disrupt operations of major international organizations, with the latest casualty being the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP).

Currently, WFP provides food assistance to over 150 million people across 120 countries, but its future is uncertain. This week, WFP announced the closure of its Southern Africa office, citing severe budget constraints, further threatening millions already struggling with hunger.

The WFP southern Africa bureau has been leading international response to what is been described as “the worst drought in the region in four decades.” Its closure follows last week’s announcement by the Trump administration that it was terminating 90 per cent of USAID’s foreign aid contracts.

WFP said it report says “it expects budget cuts up to two fifths which will effectively cripple its capacity. The decision, which was communicated to employees around the world in an email on Friday from Global Executive Director Cindy McCain, comes as 26 million people across seven countries in the region run short of food ahead of this year’s harvest in May.”

According to the press release, “President Donald Trump has been dismantling US foreign aid affecting everything from health care to food supplies.”

WFP statistics show that Washington provided nearly half of the $9.7 billion the agency received last year. It is then no surprise that, with nearly half of its funding slashed, the agency has been forced to close its life saving humanitarian activities in southern Africa. According to the WFP, the move comes as southern Africa is reeling from its worst drought in decades. WFP says some 27 million people are now in danger of hunger.

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WFP to move southern Africa operations to Kenya

In the wake of the cuts, the WFP says the agency will now run both its eastern and southern Africa operations from Nairobi, Kenya. The move has been announced by the WFP Johannesburg-based regional spokesman Tomson Phiri.

While the WFP has not disclosed how much funding it has lost from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) “nearly half of the WFPs annual budget is US dependent.”

The spokesperson, Phiri, fell short of detailing how but he reassured stakeholders that “the bureau’s closure would not affect specific in-country operations.”

Trump and billionaire Musk could not have picked a worse time to pull funding from the agency as “the decision has come at a time when several regional states are grappling with severe El-Nino drought-induced effects, with Zambia, Malawi, Lesotho, Zimbabwe and Namibia all declaring national drought disasters.”

”The funding outlook has become constrained… the US being the single largest WFP donor, providing nearly half of all contributions received by the organization in a typical year,” Phiri decried.

In his email to The AP, Phiri admitted that “the U.N. food agency had launched a multiyear plan to streamline its structure in 2023 but as the donor funding outlook becomes more constrained, we have been compelled to accelerate these efforts.”

He went on to reiterate that the WFP will now consolidate its southern and East Africa operations into one regional office in Nairobi, Kenya, and confirmed that the southern Africa office in Johannesburg will close. However, he insisted that current food programs in the region will continue.

“Our commitment to serving vulnerable communities is as strong as ever, and WFP remains committed to ensuring our operations are as effective and efficient as possible in meeting the needs of those facing hunger,” he wrote in his email.

Is Trump wrong to cut funding to USAID?

The Trump administration announced early last week that it was terminating 90 per cent of USAID’s foreign aid contracts. Trump did not just issue the executive order without an explanation, he gave his reasons and on top of the list was that; “because they (recipient agencies) didn’t advance America’s national interests.”

For that reason, Trump (and Musk) have stopped $60 billion in spending on humanitarian projects across the world. Undoubtedly, the move has devastating effects, but a wary question lingers, is it wrong?

Consider this: According to WFP, it received $4.4 billion in assistance from the U.S. last year, which accounts for “.around half its total annual budget.” Now, it must be pointed out that this amount is “more than four times the amount given by the second biggest donor, Germany,” the report revealed.

So, while aid recipient countries frown on Trump cuts, shouldn’t the rest of the G7 pick up the slack?

Also consider the fact that; “The WFP made a call for $147 million in donations to help some of those in need even before President Donald Trump started cutting U.S. foreign aid,” the press release reveals.

The elephant in the room has been illuminated by the Trump and Musk cuts. Certainly, the international community needs to do more to support global aid agencies like the WFP. It cannot be the responsibility of the US alone to shoulder up to or more than half of funding to life saving agencies such as the WFP.

Granted, when this gap is filled by the likes of China, Russia, Saudi Arabia and others, US influence or the so called ‘US interests’ around the world and more so in Africa, will take a toll. If, or rather, when, this happens, it will effectively defeat the very purpose of the cuts, which in Trump’s own words is “because they (recipient agencies) didn’t advance America’s national interests.”

What is the effect of Trump aid cuts?

While it is certain that millions will and are already been impacted by the ongoing Trump and Musk cuts to US aid, what are the exact figures and scope of impact?

The Associated Press notes that: “Few U.N. agencies have been specific about the impact of the U.S. aid cuts.” But, what is certain so far are the mass job losses; “The U.N.’s International Organization for Migration reportedly has cut 3,000 jobs linked to resettlement in the United States.”

“Many U.N. aid agencies have said they are still assessing the impact and remain unclear about whether some programs or projects will benefit from waivers that could allow U.S. donations to continue to flow,” reads the report.