Consultants say Trump administration’s order to halt overseas help will ‘price many, many lives’.

The top of the United Nations has expressed concern about President Donald Trump’s choice to pause overseas help from the US as his administration promotes its “America First” agenda.

Throughout a information convention on Monday, a spokesman for Antonio Guterres stated the UN secretary-general had famous the coverage change “with concern”.

“He calls for extra exemptions to be thought-about to make sure the continued supply of vital improvement and humanitarian actions for probably the most weak communities world wide,” Stephane Dujarric informed reporters.

“These lives and livelihoods rely upon this assist,” stated Dujarric, including that the US is “one of many largest help suppliers” on this planet.

“We’re presently mapping out what [the Trump administration’s decision] means and the affect that it will have.”

Trump signed an government order shortly after he was sworn in for a second time period on January 20, ordering all federal authorities companies to enact a 90-day pause on overseas improvement help and to evaluate current programmes.

“It’s the coverage of United States that no additional United States overseas help shall be disbursed in a fashion that’s not totally aligned with the overseas coverage of the President of the US,” the order reads.

Days later, the US State Division stated in a memo that it was suspending nearly all new funding for overseas help programmes with exceptions for the nation’s prime Center East allies, Israel and Egypt.

The order on Friday additionally included an exemption for emergency meals help and associated bills.

“President Trump acknowledged clearly that the US is not going to blindly dole out cash with no return for the American individuals,” the division stated in an announcement on Sunday defending the measures.

The assertion additionally affirmed newly confirmed Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s assist for the Trump-led coverage.

“Reviewing and realigning overseas help on behalf of hardworking taxpayers is not only the best factor to do, it’s a ethical crucial. The Secretary is proud to guard America’s funding with a deliberate and considered evaluate of how we spend overseas help {dollars} abroad.”

However specialists have slammed the Trump administration’s choice, saying it can have disastrous penalties for individuals world wide.

A world stop-work order on overseas help will price many, many lives if stored in place.As written, it halts ALL ongoing humanitarian aid actions, besides meals help, in locations like Syria, Sudan, Gaza.Additionally halts all international well being packages.What it will imply in human phrases:t.co/1nCjZFfBdS

— Jeremy Konyndyk (@jeremykonyndyk.bsky.social) 2025-01-25T03:33:26.842Z

Michael Schiffer, who served because the assistant administrator of the US Company for Worldwide Growth’s (USAID) Asia bureau from 2022 to 2025, stated stopping overseas help — even quickly — may have “apparent, predictable outcomes”.

“Kids will die. Our nationwide safety will erode. America’s alliances will undergo. US companions shall be in danger. And America’s enemies will rejoice,” Schiffer warned in a column for the web site Simply Safety.

Jeremy Konyndyk, president of Refugees Worldwide and an ex-USAID official underneath former Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama, additionally stated “a worldwide stop-work order on overseas help will price many, many lives if stored in place”.

Konyndyk famous that US overseas help goes to addressing famine in Sudan, supporting refugees in Africa and Asia, and funding HIV/AIDS remedy programmes world wide.

“It’s no exaggeration in any way to say that following by means of on this coverage will kill lots of people,” he wrote on social media.

“It’s going to additionally shred US international credibility in a lot of the world, the place our help packages are an enormous share of our nation partnerships.”