ISLAMABAD: After the inauguration of newly-elected US President Donald Trump, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has suspended major funding for programmes in Pakistan.
The development came after Secretary of State Marco Rubio sent an internal memo vowing an “America First” policy of tightly restricting foreign aid allocations for a 90-day review period.
The decision exempts only emergency food and military funding for Israel and Egypt.
As the aid group halts the assistance, Former Pakistani Ambassador to the United States Maleeha Lodhi said a large part of the aid received through USAID continued to be spent on partners and non-governmental organisations.
“It was not directly received by the people of Pakistan,” she said in a statement.
According to official data from the USAID Country Factsheet 2024, the aid group provided approximately $1450 million in assistance for 41 projects in Pakistan in recent years.
“USAID’s support for the Pakistani people has yielded impressive results spanning private sector development, governance, energy, infrastructure, education, health, gender inclusion, and disaster response,” the report read.
As per the factsheet, the most aid was given for reforms in the Merged Districts (formerly FATA) under the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), which amounts to $602 million.
The primary projects and sectors include Health service delivery ($86 million), Mangla Dam rehabilitation ($150 million), and Manual Service Restructuring in Sindh ($36 million).
For the “inclusive democratic processes and governance”, USAID disbursed $15 million nationwide, $40 million for Community Resilience Activity for merged districts, $19.1 million for the Electoral Project, and $8 million for the Hum Ahang project.
Others include the Water Sanitation Project ($7.6 million), Water Project Sindh ($2.8 million), Social Protection Activity ($7 million), Investment Promotion Acitivty ($16.8 million), Merit Need Scholarship Health Project ($19 million).
In the agriculture sector, the foreign aid group provided $5 million for the Recharge Pakistan Project, $25 million for Livelihood and Food Security Activity for KP and the Flood-Affected Districts of Pakistan, $12.9 million for the Gomal Zam Command Area Development Project, and $7.5 million for Water Management for Enhanced Productivity.