A man peruses a poster in The AIDS Support Organization’s office in Kampala, Uganda. This organization derives half of its financial support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The Trump administration’s temporary freeze on nearly all foreign aid funding lasted 90 days, after which a waiver was granted for critical humanitarian activities. Recently, a judge has mandated a temporary pause on this freeze.
Hajarah Nalwadda/Getty Images
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Hajarah Nalwadda/Getty Images
On Thursday, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., mandated the Trump Administration to temporarily lift the freeze on all USAID program funding globally.
This lawsuit was initiated by two healthcare organizations receiving assistance from USAID: Aids Vaccine Advocacy Coalition and Global Health Council.
Judge Amir Ali stated in his order that officials from the Trump Administration “have not provided any justification for why a comprehensive halt on all congressionally approved overseas aid, which caused a shockwave and disrupted” contracts with myriad nonprofit organizations, businesses, and others “was a rational preliminary action for reviewing programs.”
The order sets a deadline of February 18 for the administration to update the court on their “compliance status.”
The State Department’s press office did not respond to requests for comments by the time of publication.
For numerous stakeholders in the international aid domain, this ruling represents a vital initial step in ensuring the continuation of global health and development support from the U.S. government. However, the specifics of how funding will resume remain ambiguous.
“This is a significant legal accomplishment, but its implications for on-ground programs are rather perplexing and challenging,” asserts Nina Schwalbe, who leads the global health think tank Spark Street Advisors.
In principle, the directive to restart USAID funding is straightforward, according to Schwalbe. If enacted, parties that previously received financial support from the agency should be able to access those funds and resume their activities during the Trump Administration’s 90-day review of USAID foreign aid funding – which commenced on January 20 and is expected to remain in effect until mid-April.
However, this order is only a temporary measure pending the review’s outcomes. The reinstatement of funding is not as simple as it seems. In the wake of the Trump administration’s stop-work order, many staff and contractors were dismissed, losing access to USAID’s systems. Schwalbe highlights the challenges, stating, “it is uncertain who will actually turn the funding tap back on.”
Even if USAID funding were to restart in the coming weeks, reinstating halted projects could prove difficult, remarks Asia Russell, executive director of Health GAP, an international organization dedicated to ensuring access to essential treatment for individuals with HIV.
This includes HIV/AIDS initiatives supported by the U.S. PEPFAR program, such as community drop-in health centers. Despite a waiver issued by the State Department on February 1 for certain treatment and testing initiatives to proceed, many staff around the world “had to dismiss employees, shut down programs, liquidate equipment, and withdraw from their life-saving operations,” Russell explains.
Logistically, reopening such projects will require time, according to Schwalbe. For instance, it will be necessary to rehire workers.
Moreover, a considerable amount of trust will be required, says Diana Kearney, a senior legal and shareholder advocacy adviser at Oxfam America. It may be challenging for grantees, partners, and other aid organizations to trust the Trump administration to “actually distribute this aid” as per the judge’s ruling, especially when “there have been instances of ignoring” temporary restraining orders.
