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USAID website goes dark with future of US help in doubt

Billions of dollars in US aid typically coordinated by the independent agency were frozen following an executive order by Trump

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The USAID flag outside the USAID building in Washington. Photo: Reuters
Bloomberg
The US Agency for International Development’s website was offline over the weekend as the Trump administration continues to review its future and the path forward for US foreign aid in general.
A network error or blank page was encountered when attempting to access the site, usaid.gov, across various countries and devices.

The move follows an executive order by US President Donald Trump last month to halt and re-evaluate US foreign aid. Billions of dollars in US aid that are typically coordinated by the independent agency were frozen, and several senior officials suspended.

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That order left many aid recipients, especially across Africa and in Ukraine, scrambling. The agency provides support for everything from humanitarian projects to health initiatives to disaster relief.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has issued a waiver for certain “life-saving humanitarian assistance” as a three-month review is carried out to determine which of the thousands of US foreign aid projects align with Trump’s vision.

Sajad, 7, who has been displaced by flooding, holds his toy jeep outside his family tent with the weather sheet donated by USAID, in Pakistan’s Sindh province in 2010. Photo: Reuters
Sajad, 7, who has been displaced by flooding, holds his toy jeep outside his family tent with the weather sheet donated by USAID, in Pakistan’s Sindh province in 2010. Photo: Reuters
The agency’s programmes are also often baked into key foreign policy priorities such as helping countries’ energy transition, competing with China on infrastructure projects, and countering Moscow’s and Beijing’s influence.
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