The end of USAID: Why is it Africa’s moment? |
For decades, the United States has wielded outsized influence over government institutions and civil society in Africa, including through its development assistance. Under the banner of Official Development Assistance, US funding penetrated key sectors such as health, education, infrastructure, governance, and agriculture, often shaping policy choices in ways that reflect donor interests more than local needs.
Established in 1961 under President John F. Kennedy through the Foreign Assistance Act, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) was the US government’s primary agency for administering foreign aid, focusing on development programs in more than 130 countries. In February 2025, USAID announced that it was sending most of its employees on administrative leave. The following month, the US State Department announced the termination of USAID’s 6,300 global initiatives.
One year later, despite the clear challenges facing aid-dependent nations, there is a growing conviction that African states can find opportunities in this shift – though it requires a fundamental rethink of policy approaches.
Dr. Kizito Sabala, Foreign Policy and Diplomacy Senior Lecturer at the University of Nairobi, notes that the end of USAID’s operations was not unexpected.
“The changing geopolitical priorities and foreign policy shifts were definitely going to affect USAID’s activities in one way or another. The collapse of USAID only brought to the fore the recalibration of US engagement in the Global South,” said Dr. Sabala. He adds that historically, the agency’s work in health, food security, and governance had subtly advanced US strategic interests.
‘The continent does not need support that comes with threats’
Michael Owuor, a development and transnational organized crimes researcher at the Global Centre for Policy and Strategy (GLOCEPS), says that with the reshaping of geopolitics and the inward shift of aid flows and donor........