US President Donald Trump’s administration’s decision to freeze the funds of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is likely to have implications on healthcare and other projects and partnerships with India. Last month, Trump issued an executive order to reevaluate and realign US foreign aid with the policy of the new administration and put a 90-day pause on foreign aid. USAID, in line with the order, has issued a directive asking all organisations implementing projects with its support in India to suspend work until further notice.
Tesla chief and a close aide of Trump, Elon Musk on Monday said, “With regards to the USAID stuff, I went over it with (the president) in detail and he agreed that we should shut it down.” Musk believes USAID is a “criminal organisation” and it is “time for it to die”.
USAID is a criminal organization.
Time for it to die. https://t.co/sWYy6fyt1k
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 2, 2025
During a media briefing, when asked about USAID, Trump called the organization “a group of radical left lunatics”.
“I love the concept, but they turned out to be radical left lunatics. The concept of it is good but it’s all about the people,” he said.
USAID Funding In India
USAID has directed its partners working in India to halt projects. “The recipient shall not resume work under this agreement until notification has been received in writing from the Agreement Officer (USAID) that this award suspension has been cancelled,” the directive states, according to a Times Of India report.
USAID has been working in India for over 70 years. During the current fiscal year, India was to receive $140 million through USAID while the country’s overall budget of over $600 billion, reported the news agency IANS.
In the fiscal 2023-24, the USAID allocation was $6.8 million for “government and civil society”; about $55 million for health; $18 million for environment, and $7.8 million for “social infrastructure”, according to the US government’s Foreign Assistance website.
Though a small portion of funding to India comes from USAID, health-related programmes are likely to be impacted most, followed by education, gender and climate change.
Health, Education, WASH, And Food Security: USAID’s 70-Year Journey In India
Health Support
USAID works with the Indian government to address various health challenges including maternal and child mortality, tuberculosis (TB), HIV and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since 1990, USAID has helped save the lives of more than 2 million children in India. 25,000 pneumonia deaths and 14,000 diarrhoea deaths were prevented through USAID support.
To better diagnose, cure, and prevent TB, USAID supports the Indian government with its national-level campaign, the Call to Action for a TB-free India. In urban settings, USAID has trained health providers to expand access to TB services and improve the quality and adherence to international TB standards for diagnosis, treatment, and care.
Since 1995, USAID, in partnership with the government and civil society, has worked to improve prevention and care for populations most at risk of HIV. With this, the number of new AIDS infections has reduced by 32 per cent since 2007.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, USAID announced nearly $13.1 million in funding, to disseminate essential public health messages to communities, strengthen testing and surveillance and train Community Health Officers. USAID also donated 200 brand-new, state-of-the-art ventilators to India.
Partnership For Education
USAID and its partners are working across 16 states to improve reading skills in nine languages. USAID supported India’s literacy campaign Padhe Bharat Badhe Bharat (Read India, Progress India), reaching more than two million students.
USAID-supported programs trained over 61,000 teachers in improved teaching skills. They trained teachers to use flashcards, games, storytelling, and group work to motivate and engage their students more successfully.
WASH In India
USAID backed up the government’s Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Clean India Mission) launched in 2014 and helped over 3 lakh people with access to household toilets, ensuring 25,000 communities are open defecation free (ODF). It secured more than $5 million in funding from the private sector to implement WASH solutions. Additionally, 42,000 toilets were located on Google Maps.
Food Security
Over 1.32 lakh farmers have raised their yields and income by applying USAID-supported improved technologies and management practices.
USAID collaborated with India’s largest weather services company to expand its network of automatic weather stations in nine states. It is to send reliable, localised weather data, risk mitigation tools, and crop insurance services by SMS to about 70,000 climate-vulnerable farmers.
USAID’s Website Goes Offline
Over 350 US government websites, including that of USAID, have become unavailable. These included sites linked to the Departments of defense, commerce, energy, transportation, labor, the Central Intelligence Agency and the Supreme Court.
It is unclear whether the websites were temporarily offline or taken down at Trump’s order.
The above information has been sourced from the content archived. The information was released online before January 2021.
Past And Present Of USAID Fund
USAID is said to be the “largest humanitarian and development arm of the US government”, with a workforce of approximately 10,000 people. In the 2023 fiscal year, USAID managed more than $40 billion in funds, representing around 0.7 per cent of the US government’s $6.1 trillion in spending during that period. The fund supported 130 countries.
International development assistance began after World War 2 ended in 1945. George C Marshall, the Secretary of State from 1947 to 1949 provided significant financial and technical assistance to Europe after the war. Known as the Marshall Plan, it helped Europe to rebuild its infrastructure, strengthen its economy, and stabilise the region.
The success of the Marshall Plan prompted President Harry S Truman to propose an international development assistance program. In 1961, President Kennedy signed the Foreign Assistance Act into law and created USAID by executive order.
Ever since Trump has taken charge of the US as the 47th President, USAID and its operations have come under scrutiny. Musk has alleged, that USAID “funded bioweapon research, including Covid-19, that killed millions of people” using taxpayers’ money.
