Tens of thousands of internally displaced people are sitting in a lonely makeshift camp on the borders of Somalia’s money, not sure if they will be able to obtain food and medicine as a result of US President Donald Trump’s decision to freeze the majority of his country’s foreign aid.
Trump’s action, which will remain in effect for 90 days following his executive order from January 20, poses a risk of a collapse of the charitable aid sector that provides for some of the world’s most vulnerable people’s lives. The US provides more foreign aid globally than any other country, budgeting about$ 60 billion in 2023, or about 1 % of the US budget.
Somalia, a Horn of Africa region that struggles with a homemade Islamic fundamentalist rebellion, depends almost entirely on foreign help to look after people displaced by armed issue, equivalent to 3 million, according to the UN immigrant agency. The eastern African region even grapples with the effects of normal disasters, mainly drought, and food insecurity.
In 2021, USAID, the United States company for global growth, or USAID, spent$ 369 million on Somalia, putting money into everything from authorities and non-governmental organizations to provide for emergency needs.
Ayan Ali Hussein, director of the Dooxdoox IDP station on the outskirts of Mogadishu, said Trump’s get provoked almost instant stop-work purchases addressed to USAID lovers, shutting down simple services.
Instantly” there are no facilities to treat famished children”, she said. ” Women who had experienced gender-based crime previously had access to care, counseling, security, medication, financial help, and clothes, none of which are available again”.
Hussein’s tent looks after eight places, home to nearly 8, 000 families of internally displaced Somalis who did “lack simple items like cheap sheets” for temporary house.
The expulsion of USAID, “left a big hole in our life” she said.
One of the town’s occupants, an 85-year-old family of eight, Ruqiya Abdulle Ubeyd, said she was shocked by Trump’s selection and asked” the US government to restore the support it used to give to prone people”, she said.
The fund freeze severely affected the work of almost all NGOs in Somalia, which also raises issues for those who require urgent medical care, including those who have HIV.
One of the hard-hit organizations is the Somali Young Doctors Association, or SOYDA, a key provider of medical assistance in the camps. Its founder, Abdiqani Sheikh Omar, previously a top official in Somalia’s health ministry, said the abruptness of Trump’s announcement has destabilized their programs.
In 2025, Somalia was to receive$ 125 million in USAID support for programs that could now become “null and void”, he said. His group decided to prioritize critical nutrition and hygiene programs in order to deal with funding constraints.
The organization is “engaging our volunteer health professionals to cover this emergency staff funding gap through part-time shifts,” he said, adding that many of his employees also face immediate job losses.
For those who can’t afford it, SODYA also offers medication.
” Previously, whenever our children got sick, we would come straight to ( the SODYA ) center for help”, said Hussein Abikar, a father of five who lives in the camp with his family.
” There is no other place where we could find such support”, Abikar said.
