United Nations official states that U.S. Foreign Aid pause hits the Democratic Republic of Congo humanitarian Efforts during ongoing conflict. Image: SABC News.
(The Post News)– The United States of America’s pause on foreign aid has a big impact on humanitarian operations in Congo, where Washington funded 70% of aid last year.
Bruno Lemarquis, the top U.N. aid official in the Democratic Republic of Congo, said Tuesday the 2024 U.N. humanitarian response plan for the country had received $1.3 billion, with $910 million coming from the United States. But since President Donald Trump ordered a 90-day pause on foreign aid last month, many programs have had to shut down.
The funding freeze comes as violence in eastern Congo has displaced hundreds of thousands of people and raised fears of a broader regional war. “We’re ultra-dependent on U.S. funding, so many programs had to shut down—emergency health, emergency shelter, and other life-saving services,” Lemarquis said. His own office’s coordination capacity has also been halted due to funding shortages.
Despite these setbacks, Lemarquis said the U.N. will continue its humanitarian work. According to Lemarquis, this has had a huge effect on them; however, they aim to continue assisting. Trump’s aid review, implemented just hours after he took office on January 20, aims to reassess whether U.S. foreign aid aligns with his “America First” foreign policy. The US is the world’s largest foreign aid giver.
But humanitarian officials say the lack of clarity around the Trump administration’s aid overhaul has caused confusion and chaos. Many aid groups are struggling to decide whether to keep operating without assurances of future funding or close critical programs.
Lemarquis said some programs have recently gotten U.S. approval to restart, but overall the situation is still unclear. With Congo facing one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, aid organisations are calling for transparency and urgent solutions to prevent further disruption to life-saving operations.
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