Trump moves to shutdown US govt aid agency

FRANCE 24 English

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00:00The world's largest foreign aid organisation, USAID, had a $42 billion budget in 2024,

00:07but on Friday it's essentially shutting up shop.

00:10The UN chief of humanitarian affairs told France24

00:14that leaves a gaping hole in global humanitarian aid budgets.

00:18So we've got to make the case afresh for humanitarian solidarity,

00:21for support for the poorest people, those in direst need.

00:24We've got to make that case in Washington and across America.

00:28We need a humanitarian movement now to step up and fill this gap,

00:33otherwise tens of millions will die.

00:35The USAID workforce, formerly 10,000 strong, will be reduced to 600.

00:41Most will be on furlough as of midnight on Friday and recalled to the United States.

00:47USAID receives policy guidance from the State Department,

00:50but remains an independent organisation,

00:53funding and sometimes running international development projects across the globe.

00:57Among them, Doctors of the World in Turkey.

01:0060% funded by USAID, they will have to shutter 12 field hospitals in northern Syria,

01:06cutting their daily consultations from 5,000 to 500.

01:11We just received the stop work order, you know, suddenly.

01:16I mean, imagine for us as a medical organisation that is providing,

01:20you know, life-saving services,

01:25you are saying basically close all the clinics,

01:28stop all your doctors and all your healthcare professionals.

01:33Trump's decision to gut the agency drew protests on Wednesday.

01:40And the employees aren't going down without a fight.

01:42Two trade unions filed a lawsuit on Thursday,

01:45arguing that the president does not have the authority to shut down a government agency

01:49without the approval of Congress.

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