Community Leaders in South Africa React to Stoppage of AID by US

(3 Minutes Read) 

Community members in Evaton, South of Johannesburg, gathered at the Emthojeni Awareness Centre to collect food parcels donated by the U.S. Department of Social Development on Wednesday.

Emthonjeni Awareness Centre is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) that specialises in orphans and vulnerable children as a result of the HIV pandemic and also has other programmes to help women and youth in the community.

The NGO is one of many that have been affected by the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief and USAID freeze by U.S. President Donald Trump, which has left many of their staff and beneficiaries worried about the future. Shortly after returning to the White House Trump signed an executive order freezing almost all U.S. foreign aid.

Many Africans had known that Trump’s “America First” outlook meant their continent was likely to be last among his priorities. But they hadn’t expected the abrupt halt to foreign aid from the world’s largest donor to stop money flowing for wide-ranging projects like disease response, girls’ education and free school lunches.

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https://trendsnafrica.com/usaid-closure-imminent/

The U.S. provides more foreign aid globally than any other country, budgeting about USD 60 billion in 2023, or about 1% of the U.S. budget.