NAIROBI, Kenya — The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) once provided 65% of Somalia’s foreign aid, but under the Trump administration, this support is being dismantled. Health workers are now witnessing the disappearance of hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. assistance.
Impact on Health Services
- Save the Children, the largest non-governmental provider of health and nutrition services to children in Somalia, has been forced to close 121 nutrition centers due to a lack of funds from USAID.
- The organization has stated that it will be unable to continue providing essential services without this critical funding.
Rising Malnutrition Rates
- As a result of these aid cuts, Save the Children estimates that 11% more children are expected to be severely malnourished compared to the previous year.
- Somalia has long faced food insecurity due to climate shocks like droughts, but aid groups and Somalis alike now fear a catastrophe as much-needed funding disappears.
Funding Uncertainty
- Former Somali Foreign Minister Ahmed Moalin noted that USAID had provided $1 billion in funding for Somalia in fiscal year 2023, with a similar amount expected for 2024, but much of that funding is now in jeopardy.
- State Department officials acknowledge uncertainty regarding future support levels beyond July when responsibility shifts from USAID. Despite claims by aid workers that there isn’t enough information about which programs will continue after July, State Department officials assert they are working hard to prevent abrupt program terminations.
Widespread Hunger
- CARE warns that 4.6 million people across East Africa face severe hunger through June, with nearly 2 million children among them facing severe hunger.
- These estimates are based on data collected prior to mid-June, reflecting only half-monthly averages rather than actual totals at any given moment, suggesting that real numbers are likely higher.
- An additional 100,000 children may starve this summer alone, according to CARE estimates.
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