President Donald Trump admitted on Wednesday that his administration’s deep cuts to the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and international aid programs have been “devastating.” Talking with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa at the White House, Trump moved to address concerns voiced by a reporter about how the funding cuts have taken a big hit on African countries.
“It’s terrible,” Trump conceded, continuing, “hopefully, a lot of people are going to start spending a lot of money.” He urged that the US has always been the biggest contributor to global aid efforts, with other nations not pulling their weight. “We want them to kick in,” Trump stated. “The US always gets the call for money. Nobody else contributes.”
After repeated requests for comment, the State Department, which hosts USAID, refused to comment. The administration has already used concern over wasteful spending as grounds for the cuts. The shocking dismantling of USAID led in part by South Africa-born entrepreneur Elon Musk is now being challenged in several federal lawsuits.
Being the world’s biggest provider of humanitarian aid, the US provided around $61 billion in foreign assistance during the previous year, with more than half of it being handled by USAID. Government statistics show that around $500 million went to South Africa during 2023, mostly for healthcare programs, such as combating HIV.
But much of that money has been withdrawn. The effect has been drastic, South Africa, the world’s largest population of HIV-positive individuals approximately 8 million people, or one in five adults has experienced a decline in testing and monitoring services. Prior to the cuts, funding from the US accounted for 17% of South Africa’s budget for HIV response.
The long-term consequences of the funding reductions remain uncertain, but immediate setbacks in healthcare delivery are already being reported.
