Chennai: The United States generally provides financial aid to countries around the world, offering funding for various projects and development works. This is referred to as financial aid from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
In this context, U.S. President Donald Trump has decided to cut funding from USAID. As a result, the U.S. will no longer provide financial assistance to any country, which will impact the funding India has been receiving. The funds India has been receiving for healthcare and other programs will be affected, risking the discontinuation of several important projects.
As a result, USAID-funded projects, NGO activities, and some government functions in India are now halted. This cut in USAID funding could severely impact India. USAID has instructed to stop its contracted projects in India, even though the agency has been working in the country for over 70 years. India was set to receive $140 million in the current fiscal year, the same amount it received last year, which will now be lost — almost ₹12,000 crore worth of welfare funds will be withdrawn.
For the fiscal year 2023-24, USAID had allocated $6.8 million for India's government and civil society programs, approximately $55 million for healthcare, $18 million for the environment, and $7.8 million for social infrastructure. All of this funding has now been stopped. Most of the U.S. financial assistance in India has been directed towards healthcare programs.
Since 1990, USAID programs have helped save the lives of over 2 million children in India. Data shows that 25,000 pneumonia deaths and 14,000 diarrhea-related deaths were prevented through USAID funding. The agency also provided special funding for the detection, treatment, and prevention of tuberculosis in India. This funding, which significantly helped India in fighting tuberculosis, has now been halted by the U.S. Even funding to prevent and treat HIV patients has been stopped. Since 2007, HIV infection rates in India have decreased by 32%, largely due to U.S. funding.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, USAID provided nearly $13.1 million in aid to India. This funding, too, has now been stopped. As a result, India faces severe challenges in healthcare and social welfare programs. There is now growing anticipation and concern about how the Indian government will respond to this U.S. decision and what kind of action India will take.
