Sum of $500,000 has been increased as death toll passes 1,000 but specialists decry Trump dismantling of USAID

Aid experts have denounced the US’s “embarrassing” and “pitiful” initial response to the Nepal flood disaster after the US state department announced it was releasing $500,000 in emergency funds to help the relief effort.

The modest sum – which has since been increased – allocated in response to the devastation caused by mudslides in the mountainous Asian country was mocked on social media, where users contrasted it with the amount spent on other Trump administration priorities.

A year on from the purge, with thousands of jobs cut and billions in foreign aid lost, a former leader reflects on the sorry saga – and why it would never happen to Nasa

A year has passed since I and thousands of colleagues lost our jobs at USAID. Asking myself “Why us?” I have come to the conclusion that the American public had very little idea of what we were doing and why.

Doge, the “department of government efficiency”, began its work in January 2025, with USAID as its first target, in a reckless campaign that even Elon Musk has said he would not repeat. At that moment of chaos, Americans lacked the knowledge that could contradict the false narrative presented by Musk, who called the agency a “criminal organisation” and “a viper’s nest of radical left-marxists who hate America”.

The Trump administration’s ‘America first’ approach has contributed to the scale of the crisis now unfolding in one of the world’s poorest countries

For months health experts have warned that the scale of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) could surpass the one that swept west Africa in 2014-16. This week, the authorities in the DRC announced that a grim milestone has already been passed: at least 2,325 people have died from the virus, making it the deadliest of the country’s 17 outbreaks and the fastest-growing in history.

There is no effective vaccine against Bundibugyo – a rare strain of the virus that spread fatally undetected during the spring, often being misdiagnosed as malaria or typhoid. In contrast to neighbouring Uganda, which succeeded in eliminating an outbreak, multiple factors are combining to let the disease rip through the DRC. The worst-affected region is contested by armed groups, and a context of population displacement and chronic insecurity has made monitoring and surveillance more difficult. Ebola treatment centres have been attacked as a result of misinformation and community distrust.

USAID officially stopped implementing foreign assistance as of July 1, as the Trump administration seeks to realign international aid with its policies, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced.

"Foreign assistance programs that align with administration policies — and which advance American interests — will be administered by the State Department," Rubio said in a statement on Substack.

The Trump administration has set its sights on the U.S.'s chief foreign aid agency, accusing it — despite little evidence — of fraud and of promoting a "liberal" or "leftist" agenda. Roughly 83% of USAID's programs, or around 5,200 contracts, were terminated in March, and thousands of workers were laid off.

Founded in 1961, USAID has played a crucial role in humanitarian relief worldwide and has overseen thousands of programs supporting democracy-building, human rights, and economic development.

"USAID had decades and a near-infinite taxpayer budget to advance American influence, promote economic development worldwide, and allow billions to stand on their own two feet," Rubio said.

"Beyond creating a globe-spanning NGO industrial complex at taxpayer expense, USAID has little to show since the end of the Cold War."

Contradicting Rubio's comments, experts and former U.S. officials have criticized the decision and pointed to potentially devastating humanitarian consequences. Research by The Lancet estimated that USAID funding cuts could result in 14 million deaths by 2030, including 4.5 million children younger than 5.

"We will not apologize for recognizing America's longstanding commitment to life-saving humanitarian aid and promotion of economic development abroad must be in furtherance of an America First foreign policy," Rubio said.

The chief U.S. diplomat presented the step as part of President Donald Trump's broader policies aimed at requiring international allies and partners to pay a greater share for projects around the world.

"Americans should not pay taxes to fund failed governments in faraway lands. Moving forward, our assistance will be targeted and time limited. We will favor those nations that have demonstrated both the ability and willingness to help themselves," Rubio said.

Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, USAID has provided $2.6 billion in humanitarian aid to Ukraine, as well as $5 billion in development assistance and more than $30 billion in direct budget support to Kyiv.

As US aid to Ukraine dries up, new platform connects Americans investors with Ukrainian startups

Ukraine’s startup ecosystem has tripled in five years, even during Russia’s full-scale invasion, to become the second most valuable in Central and Eastern Europe at $28 billion.

The Kyiv IndependentDominic Culverwell