Africa knew Trump's 'America First' pledge meant it might be last. Then came the freeze on aid
Source: Associated Press
Africa knew Trump’s ‘America First’ pledge meant it might be last. Then came the freeze on aid
By GERALD IMRAY, MOGOMOTSI MAGOME, Farai Mutsaka and MARK BANCHEREAU
Updated 11:13 PM EST, February 2, 2025
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Four days after President Donald Trump signed an executive order freezing almost all U.S. foreign aid, an email landed in Claris Madhuku’s inbox in rural Zimbabwe. Stop all activities immediately, it said.
The message confirmed Madhuku’s fears that Trump’s return to office might affect his organization’s efforts to save African girls from child marriages.
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 that stops money flowing for wide-ranging projects like disease response, girls’ education and free school lunches.
Even after global outrage prompted some exemptions to Trump’s order, sub-Saharan Africa could suffer more than any other region as most global aid pauses 90 days for a spending review. The U.S. gave the region more than $6.5 billion in humanitarian assistance last year.
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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/trump-africa-aid-freeze-pepfar-usaid-hiv-d1c34ac35af30e8f680f580f7d1b3029