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CWA # 1615, 13 March 2025
NIAS Africa Studies
The impact of the US Aid Suspension in Africa: Explained

  C Shraddha

On 20 January, the White House issued a presidential action initiating a 90-day pause in the US foreign development assistance. During this pause, the government intended to review the aid programs to ensure their cost-effectiveness and alignment with the US foreign policy goals. 

How much aid did Africa receive from the US?
African countries receive financial aid from the US in three categories: economic development, health and humanitarian. The majority of these funds are channelled through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Department of Treasury and Department of State. The US financial assistance received by African countries in the health sector varies in scale. Zimbabwe, for example, receives USD 200 million annually from the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). In 2023, Ethiopia emerged as the largest recipient of USAID, receiving over USD 1.7 billion. In 2024, the US spent approximately USD 12 billion in humanitarian and health aid in sub-Saharan Africa. Out of which, the conflict-torn Democratic Republic of Congo received USD 1.3 billion

Why did Trump decide to freeze aid?
According to the Trump administration, the US spends USD 40 billion annually on financial assistance. However, this spending was not favoured by Trump. He plans to prioritise the US’ national interest with his rhetoric, "one dollar at a time." On 20 January, the Presidential Action notice stated: "The United States foreign aid industry and bureaucracy are not aligned with American interests and in many cases antithetical to American values." The 90-day pause on aid forced foreign development assistance programs to cease their obligations and refrain from undertaking new projects.

What is Trump’s issue with South Africa?
The new Expropriation bill signed by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa was criticised by Trump. He claimed that the legislation led to white Afrikaners facing "unjust racial discrimination" with "nil compensation." In a gesture meant to appear altruistic, Trump offered to "rehouse" the white South Africans as "refugees fleeing persecution" in the US. However, his offer was promptly rejected by the white minority. 

The bill replaces the pre-democratic Expropriation Act of 1975, which functioned under the “willing seller, willing buyer.” The latest act permits the government to expropriate land “for public purpose or in the public interest” while requiring it to compensate the seller in a “just and equitable” manner. However, a notable addition to the new act is the identification of specific instances where nil compensation is classified as just and equitable. The newly assented Expropriation bill has reignited racial tensions in the country, with white farmers deeming the bill as an "assault on property rights." While the white minority originally acquired their land through colonial policies, they perceived the bill as an unfair attempt to take away what was theirs.

Another reason for Trump's dissatisfaction with South Africa is the latter's condemnation of Israel and "not Hamas" of genocide in the International Court of Justice. The US used the executive order to showcase its support for long-time ally Israel and accuse South Africa of "reinvigorating its relations with Iran to develop commercial, military, and nuclear arrangements."

How has it impacted Africa? 
The abrupt freeze of humanitarian assistance led to the forced closure of 80 per cent of the emergency food kitchens in Sudan, established to help people who fled the war. An emergency room organiser, Duaa Tariq, said: "People are knocking on the volunteers' doors. People are screaming from hunger in the streets." Famine conditions are being reported across five locations. Due to Trump's aid cuts, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) has had to close its southern African office. According to a spokesperson, the office in Johannesburg would be shut down, and the WFP would combine and continue its southern and east African operations with a regional office in Nairobi, Kenya. Vice President of the Council of Ethiopian Civil Society Organizations (ECSOC), Ahmed Hussein, stated: "This directly affects millions of Ethiopians. If the funding does not resume, it could lead to deaths and an even larger humanitarian crisis in conflict-affected and food-insecure regions." 

South Africa, the country with the highest number of HIV-infected individuals, is dependent upon the PEPFAR programme to provide life-saving antiretroviral (ARV) treatment to its 5.5 million patients. PEPFAR funds comprised 17 per cent of South Africa's HIV budget. A stoppage of which would adversely affect the infected individuals, rendering them defenceless against the virus and inevitably raising the death toll. 

In 2022 and 2023, the US provided USD 240 million to Ethiopia through the Department of State to help host refugees. The decision of the administration to freeze aid has forced the department to pause its existing assistance. It means, refugees would now have to fend for themselves. The exclusion of non "life-saving" practices from assistance has led to aid agencies halting counselling services to survivors of sexual violence, promoting hygiene to stop cholera, providing water fit for human consumption and cash support to set up small businesses. 

How have African countries responded? 
The stance of the US on the expropriation bill has evoked a united response in South Africa. Although the major party within the coalition, the Democratic Alliance, has expressed dissent against the bill, they have denounced the Trump administration's misperception of the bill. The unwarranted aid freeze and allegations of racial discrimination have been criticised by Ramaphosa, who has insisted that the law is not a "confiscation instrument." He has reiterated that the bill is part of a "constitutionally mandated legal process." However, Ramaphosa's argument that the bill ensures access to land in an "equitable and just manner" has been misinterpreted by the Trump administration as an act of "racial discrimination." Additionally, Ramaphosa stated: "We will not be deterred. We are a resilient people. We will not be bullied." 

Kenya, another country impacted by the PEPFAR freeze, commented on its intention to strengthen cooperation with the US. On 6 March, Kenyan President William Ruto stated that despite Washington's broader pause on federal aid, the US has specifically decided to continue the Multinational Security Support (MSS) Mission in Haiti.

About the author
C Shraddha is a postgraduate student at OP Jindal Global University, Sonipat.

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