'Cruel' Trump foreign aid order 'will kill people': global health experts

27 January

Global health experts are sounding the alarm on President Donald Trump's "sudden halt on U.S. foreign aid" issued by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, according to a Monday Politico report.

Per the report, "Many federal workers, from the Pentagon to the U.S. Agency for International Development, are confused by the wording of the order, such as what exactly could qualify for an exemption. In some cases, their ability to get information is being stymied: In a note to staff obtained by POLITICO, a top USAID official told employees they needed prior top-level approval to even talk to institutions outside of the agency."

Although the order is unclear to many workers, Asia Russell, who leads Health GAP, a nonprofit working to help developing countries access HIV treatment, told Politico, "This ‘stop work’ order is cruel and deadly."

Russell added, "It will kill people."

Furthermore, the news outlet reports that "Ken Jackson, USAID’s assistant to the administrator for management and resources wrote in an agency-wide email to some 10,000 employees" that "the pause on all foreign assistance means a complete halt.

He added that "all communications outside the agency, including to the State Department, must be approved by the Agency Front Office," and, "failure to do so, he wrote, would result in unspecified disciplinary action."

According to Politico, "The U.S. is the world’s No. 1 provider of humanitarian aid. The billions involved are less than 1 percent of the U.S. federal budget, but advocates say the money is key to protecting lives and helping America’s global reputation as it competes for influence with geopolitical rivals such as China and Russia."

NGO leaders told the news outlet that "even several weeks without funding could force them to shut down."

One official told Politico, "We operate on a shoestring budget. In 30 days you’ll start to see a very significant cash crunch across the board and probably some bankruptcies. It’s an absolute dumpster fire and no one has any idea what’s going on."

Politico's full report is available at this link.

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