This article was written on February 18th, 2025. Current affairs have likely evolved since the time of publication; please seek relevant information on the matter.
“We are rooting out waste. We are blocking woke programs. And we are exposing activities that run contrary to our national interests. None of this would be possible if these programs remained on autopilot.”
These biting statements arrived to the American public on January 29th, encased in a US Department of State press release. Titled “Prioritizing America’s National Interests One Dollar at A Time,” the release reinforced President Trump’s choice to implement a 90-day freeze on all foreign aid provided by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). President Donald Trump implemented this freeze by signing an executive order on his first day of office, January 20th. Since that day, the international community has watched as President Trump and South African businessman Elon Musk mangle the US government beyond recognition.
USAID was founded in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy through an executive order, reorganising several US foreign aid programmes into one agency. At the height of the Cold War, this agency permitted the US to effectively extend its influence over the world’s nations in competition against Soviet communist ideals. Beyond geopolitical sparring, the agency has provided millions of people with medical support, education, and development services for six decades.
When asked how this freeze will affect international relations, Professor Of American Studies and Director Of UCD’s Clinton Institute Liam Kennedy offered the following:
“It will send a chill through the international development world and alienate what were once American allies. It may also create an opening for China and Russia to expand foreign aid programmes and claim new realms of international leadership. Not that that appears to concern the Trump administration, which seems keen to herald a new, illiberal world order and expresses no concern for peoples living in dire humanitarian conditions. Long term, the global ills that the US is bent on unleashing will inevitably blow back to its shores.”
The administration’s pause on foreign aid has left a long-standing partner of UCD in limbo, with life-saving services now in question.
UCDVO’s Uganda Partner Affected
UCD Volunteers Overseas (UCDVO) is a registered charity founded in 2003 and based within UCD Global. It partners with several charities, NGOs, and not-for-profit organisations worldwide, with current partners in Cambodia, Tanzania, and Uganda. UCD students work with these partners on short-term volunteer projects, offering public health, nutrition, physiotherapy, education, livelihoods, agriculture, and community development support.
One such UCDVO partner is Nurture Africa (NA). Co-founded in 2003 by Ugandan Nakawunde Annet and Irishman Brian Iredale, the organisation “provides health and educational services, child advocacy, vocational training, and micro-financing for families living in poverty, giving them the tools they need to redefine their futures.” Since its inception, NA has stood as a cornerstone of community for the people of Uganda.
| Support in Numbers: In 2023, “10,752 women & vulnerable female youths received Sexual and Reproductive Health Services[…]118,443 clients received Primary Health Care services[…]21,889 women received antenatal care and post-natal services[…]34,068 children were immunised”. These statistics—among several others listed on NA’s official webpage—display how many lives their efforts touch. |
UCD student and UCDVO volunteer Rylee Delahunty recounts her experience working with NA this past summer:
“I was in Uganda for four weeks[…] we provided physiotherapy for children with disabilities and designed cushions and seats for the children to take home. I also ran a health-focused workshop in the afternoon for the moms of the children in the physio program.”
In 2023, 13,046 HIV-infected children, adolescents, and their guardians received HIV care and treatment thanks to the efforts of NA’s work—yet funding for this service is currently, no longer. Alongside thousands of other programs, NA is now scrambling for clarity, funding, and resources.
In an Instagram post published by @nurture_africa on January 29th, co-founder Brian Iredale announced that NA’s HIV Healthcare Programme would lose necessary funding due to the 90-day freeze on foreign aid. Standing in front of a health centre in Uganda, Iredale announced, “This places the 3,000 mothers, fathers and children on our programme in significant danger. Any break in antiretroviral treatment will result in a deterioration in their health.”
UCDVO Manager Hilary Minch, who recently returned from Uganda, further noted that “this programme provides testing, counselling, outreach and ARV medication to families affected by HIV. Children born over the next 90 days will not receive ARVs, which could prevent them contracting HIV.”
Without a doubt, the loss of this crucial service will increase rates organisations like NA have worked hard to bring down: “Specially trained staff and dedicated clinics are credited with bringing infection rates down from 19% in the late 1990s to 5% in 2024.”
The post announced NA’s emergency appeal for funds, seeking €15,000 to support just two months of this life-saving service. The call for help was quickly answered; on February 5th, NA representative Kevin Murphy announced via Instagram that €7,000 had been raised through the appeal. Unfortunately, several adjacent services have been affected to maintain the HIV Healthcare Programme; HIV outreach and HIV testing services, once essential parts of NA’s broader impact, have since stopped.
As of the 12th of February, NA has submitted a waiver to the US Department of State to reinstate funds. Including a revised budget and work plan, the waiver must prove that their work is “life-saving”. The success of this waiver is crucial—funds for the HIV Healthcare Programme are only set to maintain the service until the 19th of April.
This 90-day freeze is not a planning error set in motion by incompetent leaders (despite all indications). It is a brazen display of power, using the lives of millions as bargaining tools. Secretary of State Marco Rubio noted that the 90-day freeze resulted in the Department of State “getting a lot more cooperation” from humanitarian and development aid recipients. Rubio added, “Because otherwise you don’t get your money.”
In a section of the prior-mentioned press release titled, “How much has this process saved U.S. taxpayers?”, the current waiver situation is described: “In just a few days, the Department received billions of dollars in waiver requests. Many of those requests are still under a merit-based review as they are not considered emergency or life-threatening; however, even at this early stage, over $1,000,000,000 in spending not aligned with an America First agenda has been prevented.” Further information on the review process has been sparse and vague—likely intentionally.
The freezing of thousands of programs marks the extreme politicisation of services which have existed for several decades. In a prior release dated January 28th, Rubio notes that waivers will “not apply to activities that involve abortions, family planning, conferences, administrative costs[…], gender or DEI ideology programs, transgender surgeries, or other non-life saving assistance.”
On the 14th of February, federal judge Amir Ali ordered Trump’s administration to temporarily lift the 90-day freeze, setting a five-day deadline for the administration to prove that it is complying. In his ruling, Ali notes that the Trump administration could not prove “why a blanket suspension of all congressionally appropriated foreign aid, which set off a shockwave and upended reliance interests for thousands of agreements with businesses, nonprofits, and organisations around the country, was a rational precursor to reviewing programs.” At the time of publication, US financial aid will have either been returned to millions of vulnerable people—or Trump will have characteristically violated the rules of law with the United States and proceeded anyway.
Comment from UCDVO
UCDVO Manager Hilary Minch summarised the ongoing global situation, sharing the following:
“This will have a devastating impact on millions of the most vulnerable women, men and children in some of the poorest communities in the world. I think of the places where I have worked, including Syria, Sudan, Kenya, Uganda, and Palestine—who will all suffer immeasurably, and many will die because of the stroke of a pen and the senseless destruction of life-saving humanitarian aid.”
Minch hopes the Irish community will turn their eye to this space: “The Irish Global Health Network Restore Humanity Campaign calls for a comprehensive response to US global policies and funding cuts. In the short term, the Irish Government and EU must step in to fill this gap and protect the most vulnerable communities in the world. Our representatives must also put pressure on the US government to reverse these cuts. I’d encourage everyone to get involved with the Restore Humanity Campaign and use every opportunity to raise our voices. This is not the time for apathy – but for solidarity and collective action.”
Just one month into Trump’s second run of four years, it is becoming increasingly apparent that US policy will be viscerally and physically felt rather than simply observed.
Benjamin Floyd – Features Editor
