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US President Donald Trump's administration on Wednesday revealed details of how the United States Agency For International Development (USAID) funded "ridiculous" projects over the years. This comes a month after Mr Trump issued an executive order to re-evaluate and realign US foreign aid with the new administration's policy and put a 90-day pause on foreign aid.
According to the documents, USAID funded $500 thousand to solve sectarian violence in Israel, just 10 days before the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas that killed at least 1,200 people. It also gave $5 million to EcoHealth Alliance - one of the key NGOs funding bat virus research at the Wuhan lab.
At least $10 million worth of USAID-funded meals were sent to an Al Qaeda-linked terrorist group, the Trump administration said.
The documents further revealed that the USAID funded millions of dollars to countries for LGBT groups and their activism - a topic that Mr Trump is trying to discard from the US.
The funds include: $7.9 million to teach Sri Lankan journalists how to avoid "binary-gendered language", $2 million for sex changes and LGBT activism in Guatemala, $1.1 million to an Armenian LGBT group, $1.5 million to promote LGBT advocacy in Jamaica, $2 million to promote LGBT equality through entrepreneurship in Latin America, $3.9 million for LGBT causes in the Western Balkans, $5.5 million for LGBT activism in Uganda, $6 million for advancing LGBT issues in priority countries around the world, and $6.3 million for men who have sex with men in South Africa.
Apart from this, USAID has funded $25 million for Deloitte to promote "green transportation" in Georgia, $6 million to transform digital spaces to reflect feminist democratic principles, $1.3 million to Arab and Jewish photographers, and $8.3 million for "USAID Education: Equity and Inclusion", the Trump administration said.
It has also funded over $4.5 million to combat disinformation in Kazakhstan.
"For decades, USAID bureaucrats believed they were accountable to no one - but that era is over. President Trump is STOPPING the waste, fraud, and abuse," the Trump administration wrote on X.
Tech billionaire Elon Musk also reacted to the documents, calling it a "crazy waste" of people's tax money.
Crazy waste of your tax money! https://t.co/9dEoj9xeMf
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 5, 2025
What is USAID?
USAID is by far the largest humanitarian and development arm of the US government, with a workforce of approximately 10,000 people around the world and an annual budget of tens of billions of dollars. Congress approves USAID's funding each year. The humanitarian agency then works with Congress and the White House to set its investment priorities, while the State Department provides it with foreign policy guidance.
The United States is the world's largest provider of official development assistance, according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Most of its support is channeled through USAID.