The US foreign aid freeze and targeting of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) by the Trump administration could have severe consequences for Sudanese civilians, experts warn, as the United Nations cautions that parts of the country are on the “brink of catastrophe” due to the escalating civil war.
US President Donald Trump initiated an overhaul of foreign aid on Jan. 20, signing an executive order for a 90-day pause on foreign development assistance “pending reviews of such programs for programmatic efficiency and consistency with United States foreign policy.” Last week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio signed a waiver allowing exceptions for “life-saving humanitarian assistance” such as food, medicine and shelter.
On Friday, Trump officially called for shutting down USAID, essentially dismantling America's main provider of global humanitarian aid. “CLOSE IT DOWN!” Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social, alleging that much of the agency's money had been spent in "TOTALLY UNEXPLAINABLE" ways.
The situation in war-torn Sudan is often described as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, with 14.6 million displaced and 30.4 million in need of aid, according to the International Rescue Committee. The civil war, which began in 2023, pits the Sudanese Armed Forces against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a group with origins in the Janjaweed militias that fought for ousted ruler Omar al-Bashir in Darfur in the 2000s.
AL-MONITOR All-Access gives you unlimited access to all our journalism, the full Daily Briefing, exclusive interviews, premium newsletters, and live events — for less than $2/week.
