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Stand Up for Aid Situation Report #3 March 6, 2025
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92%
Percent of USAID
programs terminated. Approximately 5,800 programs were terminated and 500 programs remain.*
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$1.5 Billion
Payments owed to USAID contractors and grantees for work completed. Nearly $2 billion total is owed to USAID and State implementers.**
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$15.9 Billion
Obligated but undispersed humanitarian assistance
($8.2 billion)*** and global health
($7.7 billion) funds****
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![]() Flow of Life-Saving Aid:
Minimal |
![]() USAID’s Payment System Phoenix: Limited |
*Source: Joint Status Report as of February 26, 2025. **Source: Source: Joint Status Report as of February 26, 2025 **Source: USAID Office of Inspector General (USAID OIG) Advisory Notice as of February 10, 2025. ***Source: USAID Acting Assistance Administrator for Global Health memo as of February 28, 2025.
U.S. Supreme Court does not lift District Court’s order for the government to comply with the TRO for payments, but USAID still lacks functioning payment system: On March 5, the Supreme Court voted to not lift a lower court order requiring the government to unfreeze nearly $2 billion in foreign aid, including $1.5 billion to USAID implementers, noting that the February 26 deadline in the application had passed. The ruling stated that the District Court should clarify what obligations the Government must fulfill to ensure compliance with the temporary restraining order (TRO), with due regard for the feasibility of any compliance timelines. The U.S. District Judge for the District of Columbia entered a TRO on February 13, and later ordered the U.S. Department of State and USAID to pay, by the end of the day February 26, invoices and drawdown requests owed to grantees and contractors. Administration’s chaotic approach to award terminations amplifies lack of strategy and intensifies uncertainty among partners: Since the termination of nearly 10,000 USAID and U.S. Department of State contracts and grants, partners report receiving termination notices in the days that followed. Several partners received termination notices for programs that had previously received a waiver. One partner reports previously having two active programs in a country, and receiving a termination for only one program with no explanation. Another partner reports receiving a termination letter addressed to another organization, while the award number on the letter belonged to a third partner. InterAction, the leading alliance of international NGOs and partners in the United States, reports that one organization received a stop work order, then a waiver, then a termination, then a termination reversal, and then a note that the reversal was an error. Partner programs that received waivers and/or were not terminated unable to restart due to lack of clarity and payment: USAID partners report not having received payment for outstanding invoices, despite administration assurances that payments would be forthcoming. While some partners report having a limited number of program terminations reversed, lack of clarity related to the reversal is also preventing programs—like Stop TB—from proceeding. In addition, partners that have received termination orders are unable to terminate awards in accordance with proper termination processes due to nonpayment of outstanding invoices for work completed, as well as lack of guidance and support from USAID. A memo circulated by USAID Acting Assistant Administrator for Global Health, who has subsequently been placed on administrative leave, details the shifting guidance and personnel actions that are preventing remaining staff from offering clarity to partners. USAID partners report irreparable and irreversible damage caused by the foreign aid freeze: A number of USAID partners continue to report the lasting impact of the freeze and the conflicting guidance regarding starting and stopping programs is having in countries of operation even if aid resumes. Without a program transition strategy, USAID partners note that they will not be permitted to return to countries where they were working due to local law violations and communities due to distrust. One partner reports that opposition leaders have published the names of its programs and staff, resulting in personal security risks following decades of work. Another partner reports that stopping and starting programs causes infectious disease rates to increase, as well as resistance to treatment. Partners also report trickle-down effects to non-USAID funded programs, as the loss of trust and credibility is impacting their operational capability to implement other programs.
Roadblocks and Systemic Challenges |
USAID Payment System and Guidance |
On February 26, the Office of Management Budget (OMB) circulated a memo with guidance on a Foreign Assistance Review (FAR) data call, presumably to support another round of review of foreign assistance funding. The memo requires agencies with foreign assistance programs to conduct department and agency reviews, including outreach to implementing partners; make subsequent recommendations as to program determination; and submit a summary of overarching foreign assistance activities to the U.S. Department of State and OMB. The memo clarifies that the FAR is distinct and separate from the waiver review process managed by the Department of State. Based on the information collected through this budget data request, the responsible Department and Agency heads, in consultation with the Director of OMB, will make recommendations no later than April 20, with concurrence of the U.S. Secretary of State. These recommendations will be presented to the President for final determinations. On March 4, USAID’s Office of Acquisition and Assistance circulated an email informing the Agency that the foreign assistance review had taken place and all work may resume on non-terminated awards. While the email acknowledged disbursement issues and a new comprehensive review process for disbursements, numerous partners confirm that funding is still not flowing.
The termination of approximately 10,000 foreign assistance awards, including 5,800 USAID-funded awards, has resulted in chaos over the last week. In many cases, USAID’s contracting officers and agreement officers were not included on termination notices, which has resulted in a lack of visibility on terminations and is challenging attempts to turn programs back on that had been covered under the waiver process. While a limited number of programs have had terminations rescinded after drawing attention to the terminations through media and other channels, the lack of guidance and USAID staff through which to seek clarity, continued nonpayment for work already completed, and confusion being caused by the lack of strategy and coherence around terminations is hindering partner efforts to proceed.
During the week of February 24, the administration terminated grants and contracts that included at least $1 billion in food aid that supports communities to reach a more stable situation. In-kind emergency food assistance covered by a waiver could allow U.S. food already purchased from U.S. farmers and valued at $450 million to be transported to feed more than 36 million people across 23 countries. However, the administration placed USAID officers who managed transportation on leave and the continued non-payment of the required logistics to move the food has rendered the waiver ineffective. In addition, new purchases of food assistance from U.S. farmers, which typically occur every two weeks, remain blocked. USAID partners have confirmed that several emergency food assistance programs—both cash and in-kind—have been terminated despite meeting waiver criteria. Several organizations that provide in-kind assistance continue to raise concerns related to spoilage of food on ships or in ports due to the stop work orders and now program terminations. A partner reports stopping a school feeding program in West Africa, where food is ready for distribution to hungry children. However, the partner had to tell staff to not proceed with the distribution. A USAID partner implementing life-saving humanitarian programs reports having approximately two-thirds of its portfolio terminated, affecting approximately 5 million people. The partner reports that nine of 41 terminated programs had received a waiver; however, having not been paid since mid-January, they have been unable to implement activities regardless of the waiver. The programs include the provision of safe drinking water, sanitation services, and nutrition for people—including children—experiencing conflict and other emergencies. The partner also reports termination of programs that aimed to support stabilization and security in Syria and the Sahel. These included humanitarian assistance programs, as well as job training, mentorship, and apprenticeship opportunities for youth vulnerable to recruitment into armed groups and programs that employed and provided assistance to women in Afghanistan that enabled them to support their families. The partner noted that these programs are critical to U.S. national security and therefore seem to align with the administration’s foreign aid priorities. Nonprofits Edesia and Mana, located in the U.S. states of Rhode Island and Georgia, respectively, were among those partners who had their contracts terminated and then terminations subsequently rescinded. However, Mana noted that even though their contracts for production have been turned back on, the global supply chain for last mile delivery remains uncertain as a result of the gutting of USAID. Mana also reported that the company has $13 million in unpaid invoices with USAID.
On February 28, USAID’s Acting Assistant Administrator for Global Health circulated a series of memos confirming that administrative obstacles put in place by the administration and the Bureau’s reduction in workforce—from 783 people on January 20 to less than 70 at the time of the memo—have made it impossible to implement life-saving aid covered by the waiver. One memo identifies the deterioration of American public health and increase in global mortality due to impacts stemming from the halting of programs, such as the resurgence of preventable diseases, humanitarian and regional instability fueled by worsening health crises, and a greater risk of disease spillover to the United States. The memo also highlights economic and healthcare system strain and national security and biothreat vulnerabilities. The memo includes quantifiable impacts of halting global health programming, including: Malaria: An additional 12.5-17.9 million cases and an additional 71,000-166,000 deaths (39.1% increase annually); Multidrug Resistant Tuberculosis (TB): 28-32% increase in estimated incidence globally; TB: 28-32% increase in estimated incidence globally; Emerging Infectious Diseases (Ebola, Marburg, etc.): More than 28,000 in a worst case scenario; Polio: Additional 2000,000 paralytic polio cases/year (and hundreds of millions of infections overall) over next 10 years if global polio eradication stops; Maternal Health: 16.8 million pregnant women not reached through life-saving services; Newborn Health: 11.3 million newborns not receiving critical postnatal care within two days of childbirth; Child Health: 14.8 million children under five years of age who do not receive treatment for pneumonia and diarrhea, among the top causes of preventable deaths; and Nutrition: 1 million children not treated annually for severe acute malnutrition.
A USAID partner reports that, even if a program is not terminated and funding begins to flow again, stopping and restarting programs causes infection rates to increase, potentially as a result of resistance to medicine. USAID investments made over many years in the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), for example, could be rolled back and cost more in the long-term as expired medicines will need to be replaced and years of epidemic control will need to be regained through new investments. On February 27, UNAIDS received a termination letter, which impacts the HIV responses, including the continuity of life-saving HIV services for people living with and affected by HIV. The letter stated detailed instructions will follow, and UNAIDS subsequently reached out for more information. A USAID partner that had received funding for critical HIV vaccine research reports that, prior to the pause, there had been a path forward to developing the vaccine. Combined with critically important prevention innovations in recent years, the international community was well placed to bring an end to the AIDS epidemic. However, the partner reports that as a result of the stop work order and subsequent terminations, clinical trials for an HIV vaccine concept is delayed for an uncertain period of time, volunteers who participated in vaccine studies no longer have access supportive services that they would have received, a more than two decade bio repository with specimens that have been key tools to informing vaccine research are now at risk, and the storage of already prepared and ready to be deployed clinical trial materials are also in jeopardy.
Background: The Dismantling of USAID and Termination of Vital Programs |
On January 20, U.S. President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order 14169 on Reevaluating and Realigning United States Foreign Aid. The Executive Order included a 90-day pause in United States foreign development assistance. On January 24, Secretary Rubio paused all new foreign assistance obligations for an 85-day review period. On January 28, Secretary Rubio approved an Emergency Humanitarian Waiver to the Foreign Assistance Pause. However, a directive for USAID staff to refrain from external communications outside of those necessary to implement the pause, administration plans to place nearly the entire USAID workforce on paid administrative leave, and inaccessibility to Phoenix have resulted in significant challenges to implementation despite the waiver. On February 26, USAID Deputy Administrator and U.S. Department of State Director of Foreign Assistance Pete Marocco declared that the process for individually reviewing each obligation had concluded. As a result of the review, nearly 10,000 USAID and U.S. Department of State awards would be terminated and approximately 3,200 awards retained. The total included approximately 5,800 terminated USAID awards and approximately 500 retained USAID awards. Following the announcement, USAID partners received termination notices, including for programs covered under the waiver. In many cases, the terminations were sent without including the contracting or agreement officers, contributing to a lack of clarity and coherence to the process by both remaining USAID staff and partners. In recent weeks, a number of affected organizations have filed legal challenges to the administration’s actions. Just Security continues to track legal challenges to the administration’s actions, including efforts to dismantle USAID. USAID Stop-Work had confirmed more than 13,700 people across 46 U.S. states and Washington, D.C., had lost their jobs and nearly 59,000 people had lost their jobs globally as of March 5 due to the stop work orders on contracts and suspensions of cooperative agreements. These numbers will likely rise in the coming days, as organizations continue to fold under an extended pause in funding and as more grants and contracts are terminated. USAID Stop-Work currently estimates that job losses may reach 52,000 American and 100,000 global jobs.
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To be added to the distribution list or if you have additional information to share regarding the dismantling of USAID, please contact: standupforaidinfo@gmail.com
The next Situation Report will be distributed o/a March 13, 2025. |