The Trump administration went scorched-earth on global aid — and said it has terminated 86% of its global programs in a sweeping foreign aid overhaul. That’s 5,341 programs, worth $75.9 billion, wiped out in a two-month effort to push USAID under tighter State Department control. However, billions have also been preserved, so monetarily speaking, it’s a nuanced picture. My colleagues Elissa Miolene, Sara Jerving, and Adva Saldinger waded through hundreds of data points to distill the big picture for you.
That’s all according to a 281-page spreadsheet with plans for terminated and active USAID programs that were sent to the U.S. Congress this week — first reported by The New York Times. These cuts were also confirmed in memos sent to Congress. Our data team crunched the exact numbers and they are jaw-dropping. Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance? Some $2.63 billion worth of contracts slated for cancellation. The World Health Organization’s polio and immunization work? A $1 billion award expected to be slashed.
But Dr. Sania Nishtar, the chief executive officer of Gavi, tells Sara that the organization has not received a termination notice from the U.S. government, and Congress had approved $300 million for the organization’s activities this year.
“A cut in Gavi’s funding from the US would have a disastrous impact on global health security, potentially resulting in the deaths of over a million children over five years, and endangering lives everywhere from dangerous disease outbreaks,” she says.
Also on the chopping block:
Some funds had already been committed, others hadn’t — but either way, they’re expected to be slashed.
What’s still standing?
The message is clear: This isn’t just belt-tightening — it’s a total foreign aid reboot.
Read: The USAID awards the Trump administration killed — and kept