How US Pause On Foreign Aid May Impact Nigeria’s Health, Power, Other Sectors

United States President, Donald Trump, has signed an executive order to immediately pause the country’s foreign aid to ensure they are efficient and consistent with US foreign policy under the ‘America First agenda.’

The aid is funded by or through the State Department and US Agency for International Development.

Announcing the directive on Sunday, January 26, 2025, the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, in a statement on the US Department of State’s website, noted, “Every dollar we spend, every programme we fund and every policy we pursue, must be justified with the answer to three simple questions: Does it make America safer? Does it make America stronger? Does it make America more prosperous?”

According to the statement, the review and realignment of foreign assistance “on behalf of hardworking taxpayers is not just the right thing to do, it is a moral imperative.”

A pause in this aid will have significant effects on Nigeria’s economy as the West African most populous nation, hitherto, remains a major beneficiary.

This may have significant impacts on the country’s large, teeming population of over 200 million people.“With an estimated population of 214 million, of which approximately 96 million people live on less than $1.90 per day, Nigeria is home to the world’s largest population living in extreme poverty,” USAID stated.