Di future of US government main overseas aid agency no dey clear in recent days.
US President Donald Trump and one of im top advisers, billionaire Elon Musk, don dey kwesion di importance of USAID and reports dey say dem dey consider to end am.
Di move fit get serious impact on humanitarian programmes around di world.
Wetin be USAID and wetin dem dey do?
Dem set up di United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for early 1960s to release humanitarian aid programmes on behalf of di US government around di world.
USAID employ around 10,000 pipo, two-thirds of who dey work abroad.
Dem get bases in more dan 60 kontris and dey work in dozens of odas. However, na organisations wey USAID contract and dey fund dey carry out most of di work on di ground.
Di work dem dey do plenty. For example, USAID no only dey provide food in kontris wia pipo dey hungry, dem also dey operate di world gold standard famine detection system, wey dey use data analysis to try predict wia shortages dey come from.
Dem dey spend most of USAID budget on health programmes, like offering polio vaccinations for kontris wia di disease still dey spread and dem dey help stop di spread of viruses wey get di potential to cause a pandemic.
BBC international charity, BBC Media Action, wey external grants and voluntary contributions dey fund, dey receive some funding from USAID. According to one 2024 report, USAID bin donate $3.23m (£2.6m), wey make am di charity second-largest donor dat financial year.
How much USAID dey cost di US government?
According to government data, di US spend $68bn (£55bn) on international aid for 2023.
Dem spread dat total money across several departments and agencies, but USAID budget create more dan half of am at around $40bn.
Dem spend majority of dat money for Eurasia, sub-Saharan Africa and Europe – and primarily on humanitarian efforts for Ukraine.
US na di world biggest spender on international development – and by some margin.
To put am into context, UK na di world fourth-largest aid spender.
For 2023, dem spend £15.3bn – around a quarter of wetin di US dey provide.
Why Donald Trump and Elon Musk wan stop USAID?
Trump na long-term critic of overseas spending and don tok say e no represent value for money for American taxpayers.
E single out USAID for particularly strong criticism, as e describe senior officials there as “radical lunatics”.
Ending di agency go likely enjoy popular support. Opinion polls for long suggest say American voters favour reducing foreign aid spending. According to di Chicago Council on Global Affairs, polling data wey go back to di 1970s bin show broad support for cuts.
One of Trump first actions afta e return to office na to sign one executive order to pause almost all international spending for 90 days, so dat dem go fit carry out review.
Di State Department later issue one memo wey pause di plenty work USAID dey do all ova di world.
Dem later issue waivers for humanitarian programmes, but di announcement scata di world of international development and cause widespread disruption to services.
Programmes wey include those wey dey provide medication to di world poorest and installing clean water supplies gatz stop overnight.
One veteran humanitarian worker tell di BBC say di pause be “like earthquake across di aid sector”.
Tensions between di White House and USAID bin escalate ova di weekend wen dem deny officials wey dey work for Elon Musk – pipo wey Trump task wit identifying spending cuts for di federal budget – access to secure financial data for USAID headquarters. Dem put two senior security officials on leave for di aftermath, according to reports.
On Monday, Musk – as e dey tok for one public conversation on X, the social media platform e get – say: “Wit regards to di USAID stuff, I don go ova am wit [di president] in detail and e agree say make we shut am down.”
USAID website don go offline and dem tell employees to stay for house on Monday – though e remain unclear precisely wetin White House next move go be.
Donald Trump fit shut USAID down?
While e dey clear say di White House get big influence ova USAID, dat power in theory dey limited.
US establish USAID afta Congress pass di Foreign Assistance Act for 1961. Dat law make am compulsory for dem to set up government agency wey dia work go be administering overseas spending.
E no tey, den-President John F Kennedy set up USAID using Executive order. Dem pass anoda law for 1998 wey confam USAID status as executive agency for dia own right.
In short, e mean say Trump no fit just abolish USAID by signing one executive order, and any attempt to do so go almost certainly face strong challenges for di courts and Congress.
Closing USAID altogeda go likely require act of Congress – wia Trump Republican Party hold slim majorities in both houses.
One of di options wey Trump administration dey consider according to reports na to effectively make USAID one branch for di State Department, instead of make e be government agency for dia own right.
Dat kain arrangement don happun bifor: for 2020, then UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson bin merge di Department for International Development wit di Foreign Office.
Ministers bin tok at di time say e go ensure international spending wey di government wider foreign policy goals support – but critics warn say e go reduce expertise for di aid sector and damage di UK overseas standing and influence.
Wetin go be di impact of closing USAID?
Given di unequal amount of funding wey dey come from di US, any changes to how dem dey spend di money go dey felt around di world.
USAID activities range from providing prosthetic limbs to sojas wey injure for Ukraine, to clearing landmines plus containing di spread of Ebola for Africa.
Di effects go truly dey global.
Afta dem announce di 90-day overseas spending freeze, Secretary of State Marco Rubio say “every dollar” must dey “justified” by evidence say e dey make di US safer, stronger and more prosperous.
E neva dey clear which parts of USAID work meet those criteria as far as di White House dey concerned.
Trump don make am clear say e want make overseas spending to closely align wit im “America First” approach and di international development sector dey brace up for more shockwaves.
Questions dey ground about how much US go spend overseas in years to come, as Musk – empowered by Trump – attempt to cut billions from di government budget.
Both Elon Musk and Donald Trump dey strongly critical of US overseas spending
Among recent USAID-backed responses na sending search and rescue equipment to Turkey afta one deadly earthquake