“We Are in Disbelief”: Africa reels as U.S. dismantles foreign aid agency

For decades, sub-Saharan Africa has been a focal point of U.S. foreign aid, with the U.S. Agency for International Development (U.S.A.I.D.) allocating over $8 billion annually to fund lifesaving programs. However, in a move that has sent shockwaves across the continent, former President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk have orchestrated a dismantling of the agency, leaving African nations scrambling to fill the void.

On social media, Trump declared, “CLOSE IT DOWN!” accusing the U.S.A.I.D. of corruption and fraud without providing specifics. A federal judge temporarily halted some of the administration’s efforts, but the damage has already begun. Offices across Africa are seeing mass layoffs, funding cuts, and a collapse in critical services, from health care to refugee support.

Aid organizations and African governments are now grappling with the fallout. Murithi Mutiga, Africa program director at the International Crisis Group, described the agency’s collapse as “part of the unraveling of the post-Cold War order.”

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In Kenya alone, over 40,000 health care workers face job losses, while Ethiopia’s health ministry has fired 5,000 American-funded professionals. Refugee camps in northern Kenya, which house 700,000 displaced individuals from 19 countries, are among the hardest hit, with U.N. agencies dependent on U.S. funding slashing budgets and furloughing staff.

“This is dramatic and consequential,” said Kenyan political scientist Ken O. Opalo, adding that the crumbling of U.S.A.I.D.-funded health systems poses an existential challenge for many African nations.

Medhanye Alem, from Ethiopia’s Center for Victims of Torture, lamented the closure of nine trauma treatment centers, saying, “We are in disbelief.”

The collapse of the U.S.A.I.D. also marks the end of an era for an aid model that has defined Western engagement with Africa for over six decades. For millions of Africans reliant on American aid, the cost is not just institutional but personal—jeopardizing access to health care, food, and education.

Experts warn that reversing this unraveling will take years, if not decades. Meanwhile, the continent must now contend with the gaps left behind, as both lives and livelihoods hang in the balance.