On his first day back in the White House, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that halted U.S. foreign development aid programmes, sending shockwaves through non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and aid recipients worldwide. Some leaders of the development space in Nigeria fear the policy will disrupt essential programmes. In contrast, others see it as an opportunity for African nations to rethink their dependence on foreign assistance.
The order, titled “Reevaluating and Realigning United States Foreign Aid,” imposes a 90-day pause on all U.S. foreign development assistance. It mandates a comprehensive review of aid programmes to determine their alignment with U.S. foreign policy and “programmatic efficiency.” The move immediately impacts the funding lifeline of NGOs operating in developing nations like Nigeria, as they depend on U.S. aid for critical operations.
A Wake-Up Call for Africa
Yunusa Zakari Ya’u, Executive Director of the Kano-based Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD), acknowledges that a government reassessing aid programmes is not inherently problematic. However, he emphasises the need for respect toward agreements made by previous administrations. “What we are hearing is more like soundbites,” said Ya’u, “but it remains to be seen how these would translate into substantive policies and practices.”
Ya’u views this pause as an opportunity for African nations to prioritise self-reliance. “Development aid has always been a means of entrapping African economies,” he argued. “The Trump presidency should drive the point that we must mobilise our resources for our development rather than pandering to foreign aid agendas.”
The executive order declares that U.S. foreign aid has “destabilised world peace” by promoting ideas “antithetical to American values.” Critics argue that the vague language provides broad discretion to terminate programmes that don’t fit the administration’s political ideology. An inside source told AkweyaTV that Trump is just ensuring that funds won’t be available for LGBTQ activism, population control, climate change, and those issues he has clearly taken a stand against. NGOs working in areas like health care, education, and disaster relief are scrambling to assess the fallout as these areas should be within the purview of fundamental government expenditure.
Funding Freeze Creates Uncertainty
Allwell Akhigbe, CEO of Travaille Ensemble, a social enterprise supporting African NGOs, warns that the 90-day pause will have immediate repercussions. “The U.S. is the largest donor among OECD countries,” he noted in a chat with AkweyaTV. “Even if funding has been approved, this pause will delay disbursements to local organisations on the ground.”
Akhigbe fears that projects addressing climate change, public health, and other critical issues may suffer. He also expressed concerns that the U.S. localisation policy, which aimed to direct 25% of funding to local organisations, could be abandoned. “African NGOs must diversify their funding sources,” Akhigbe advised, encouraging organisations to seek support from Europe, the Middle East, corporations, and foundations, while also exploring ways to generate local income.
Humanitarian Impact and Job Losses
For Okechukwu Nwanguma, Executive Director of the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC), the pause reflects a broader shift in U.S. foreign policy. While the policy aims to ensure aid aligns with the Trump administration’s interests, Nwanguma fears it could destabilise essential humanitarian projects. “This approach risks undermining the U.S.’s role as a leader in international development,” he told AkweyaTV.
Development consultant Jide Ojo described the move as expected under Trump’s “America First” agenda but cautioned about its implications. “Thousands of Nigerians working on USAID-funded projects could lose their jobs if these programmes are deemed inconsistent with Trump’s foreign policy objectives,” Ojo said. Like Akhigbe, Ojo also called on African leaders to reassess their own foreign assistance policies such as Nigeria’s Technical Aid Corp programme that provides technical assistance to developing countries in Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific.
A Broader Agenda
The aid freeze is part of a flurry of executive actions signed by Trump on January 20, 2025. Other orders included withdrawing the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement, rolling back environmental protections, and curbing immigration policies. Trump also pardoned 1,500 January 6 defendants, sparking outrage among opponents who accuse him of undermining the rule of law.
“We’re getting rid of all the cancer … caused by the Biden administration,” Trump declared as he signed the orders in the Oval Office.
The withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement marks the second time the U.S. has exited the pact in less than a decade, leaving global climate advocates frustrated.
Setting Up for Uncertain Future
Though, for many NGOs, the immediate concern is survival, many are urging the administration to exempt humanitarian programmes from the aid freeze, citing the potential for widespread suffering. In March 2024, Sweden similarly announced that all agreements with its local NGOs would be terminated on 31st December 2024, a historic reform intended to “focus on Swedish interests and humanitarian support.”
For YZ Ya’u, there is a silver lining to be gleaned in President Donald Trump’s move. “The Trump presidency’s action should drive the point home that we must approach foreign policy on the basis of our interests and make effective use of our resources for our development and not as a means of attracting foreign aid. It must also tell us as development activists to approach our engagements from the perspectives of our needs and mobilising our resources for that purpose rather than pandering to development assistance interests and agendas and chasing development assistance and mortgaging our capacity to ourselves. We should use the Trump pullback to rethink and set our priorities. If the world must come to us, we should receive it on our own terms.”
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