The US Department of State’s “Stop Work” Order and the Effects on Aid Programs in the Middle of a Cross-Continuum World
Virtually all aid programs around the world that depend on U.S. funding will need to halt their operations because of a State Department memo issued on Friday to “stop work.”
The new instructions mean these programs will likely have to furlough or lay off employees and cease operations until a review determines whether they align with President Donald Trump’s foreign policy agenda.
Within 85 days, the review will be completed, and a recommendation to the President will be made by the Secretary of State.
Many organizations that receive U.S. funds are based in a country where they operate and have American and local staff. All these employees are at risk of losing their pay in the short term and their jobs in the long term.
A senior official at the agency was concerned about the impact of the order. The official sent a statement to NPR on the condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak in behalf of the agency.
Jeremy Konyndyk, a top official with the US Agency for International Development during the Obama and Biden administrations, shares that interpretation as president of the aid group Refugees International. The stop work order does not exempt global health programs, according to Jeremy Konyndyk.
The leader of a humanitarian organization told NPR that someone threw a grenade into the middle of foreign assistance. People’s lives around the world are at risk. This individual asked for anonymity fearing retribution against their organization for speaking out.
“We will probably have to pull our staff providing critical services in the field and lay off US staff,” the leader told NPR. “We can’t afford to keep funding our programs because we don’t know if we will be reimbursed per our contracts with U.S. agencies.”
“It’s having dire impacts for the entire global aid system”, said the president of the charity that does not accept funding from the US government. “And really, frankly, it’s a cruel decision that has life or death consequences for millions of people around the world.”
The stop order decision needs to be reversed. We need funding and programming to go forward, for our partners, for our network, for our community, and at the very least, we need clear communication so people can plan in this terrible new reality,” Maxman said.
The impact of the 90-day freeze on the US-funded AIDS relief budget on the global health sector and on contractors at the USAID global health bureau
With its $6.5 billion annual budget, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief provides HIV drugs to more than 20.6 million people. It also offers testing and education on HIV/AIDS. 26 million people have been saved by the creation and use of the Presidential Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief according to a State Department fact sheet.
In the wake of the news that there would be a pause in operations for three months, shock waves hit the global health community.
“This will endanger millions of people that are on US-funded HIV/AIDS treatment, and will mean an abrupt halt to the programs that saved them,” Konyndyk said.
The freeze on spending could also “temporarily” halt the salaries of hundreds of contractors at the global health bureau of USAID, according to the USAID memo.
The stop-work period would leave the workers uncertain of their employment status for a period of time, which could cause the loss of skilled workers.
The quickness of the order surprised many in the global health sector. Asia Russell of Health GAP told NPR that many people assumed the 90-day freeze would only apply to forward looking funding.
That would be harmful enough, but an immediate cessation is “catastrophic” and “much more cruel,” she said. “He is doing irreparable harm to the global AIDS response.”