USAID restores some WFP contracts after global outcry

The US Agency for International Development (USAID) backtracked and reinstated some of the World Food Programme’s life-saving humanitarian assistance contracts that were canceled over the weekend, a source disclosed.

The reversal follows the World Food Programme warning that the cuts would “amount to a death sentence for millions of people experiencing extreme hunger and starvation.” The UN agency stated it had received notification from the Trump administration “that funding for emergency food assistance in 14 countries has been cut off.”

The source close to the matter said that USAID reinstated its funding for WFP activities in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Ecuador and Somalia. CNN reported that Jeremy Lewin, a senior USAID official with ties to the Department of Government Efficiency, asked in an email that the cancellations be revoked.

“Sorry for all the back and forth on awards,” he wrote in the email. “There are a lot of stakeholders and we need to do better about balancing these competing interests – that’s my fault and I take responsibility.”

A State Department official confirmed that the WFP programs had been reinstated, saying in a statement that “while they have been reinstated, the State Department and USAID plan to work with WFP to adjust awards in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Ecuador, and Somalia to more closely align with Administration priorities.”

Four contracts facilitating the activities of the International Organization for Migration in the Pacific region were also reinstated, the source added.

There has been a previous instance when the DOGE-hollowed agency reversed direction after cancelling a contract for aid to save lives. The latest reversal, first reported by Reuters, was referenced by State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce during a State Department briefing.

There were some programs that had been cut in other countries that were not to be cut, that have been rolled back and implemented,” she stated without giving details of the programs restored. The US has not “backed away from our commitments to delivering lifesaving food assistance,” she added.

Nevertheless, much of USAID’s humanitarian assistance funding is still cut, including all of its outstanding contracts for Afghanistan and Yemen assistance.

Bruce reported that “85% of previously existing USAID programs with the World Food Programme worldwide are still active and ongoing,” but added that “a limited number” were shut down.

Those included initiatives in Afghanistan and Yemen, she confirmed, adding they were terminated “through an executive order that was issued based on concern that the funding was benefiting terrorist groups, including the Houthis and the Taliban.”

An International Rescue Committee spokesperson stated that USAID suspended funding for their operations in Afghanistan, which was “a lifeline for the estimated 23 million people in humanitarian need.” The spokesperson added that their work treated acute food insecurity and some of the most severe forms of malnutrition, sanitation services and women’s and children’s services.

USAID also terminated contracts with WFP for food aid and other services in Somalia, Niger, and Jordan, the official said. They were among hundreds of contracts for life-saving work, much of which had already been approved to proceed, that were canceled by USAID over the weekend.

Bruce explained that other awards “were canceled because they offered cash-based aid, which the administration is abandoning due to concerns about abuse and insufficient accountability for American taxpayers back home.” Humanitarian officials have denounced the new round of cuts and warned that they could mean life-or-death.

This abrupt elimination of critical humanitarian assistance will wreak havoc on an estimated millions of individuals,” charged Tom Hart, InterAction’s President and CEO, a network of non-governmental organizations. “We appeal to the administration to rescind these decisions and work with implementing NGOs on an orderly strategy towards life-saving relief,” he urged. “We also appeal to Congress to assert its oversight responsibilities to ensure America’s humanitarian promise is honored.