U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has announced that 83% of USAID’s programs will be terminated, marking a significant cut in U.S. development assistance to Africa.
The cancellation of 5,200 contracts follows a rapid six-week review of U.S. aid spending conducted by President Donald Trump’s administration, with input from Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). DOGE’s task was to eliminate what it viewed as wasteful government expenditures.
“After a six-week review, we are officially ending 83% of USAID’s programs. The 5,200 contracts we are canceling spent tens of billions of dollars in ways that did not serve— and in some cases, even harmed— the core national interests of the United States,” Rubio tweeted.
He added that the remaining 1,000 programs will be managed “more effectively” under his State Department, in consultation with Congress. Rubio expressed his gratitude to DOGE and USAID staff for their role in what he described as “overdue and historic reform.”
In January, President Trump issued an executive order freezing foreign assistance funding and initiating a review of all U.S. aid and development initiatives abroad. Trump criticized much of the foreign assistance as wasteful and aligned with a liberal agenda.
In the past month, thousands of USAID employees have been placed on administrative leave, and those working on overseas projects have been instructed to prepare to return to the U.S.
Sub-Saharan Africa, a long-time recipient of substantial U.S. aid, is expected to bear the brunt of these cuts. Data from Semafor, sourced from the U.S. State Department, shows that sub-Saharan Africa was slated to receive $12 billion of USAID’s 2024 funding. The largest expected recipients were the Democratic Republic of the Congo ($1.3 billion), Ethiopia ($1.2 billion), Sudan ($770 million), Nigeria ($760 million), and South Sudan ($730 million).
