Cnn
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The American Agency for International Development (USAID) reversed the course on Tuesday and has restored several humanitarian aid contracts for the World Food Program after canceling them during the weekend, a source in CNN in CNN.
The overthrow comes after the World Food Program warned on Monday that the cuts could “equip a death sentence for millions of people faced with hunger and extreme famine”. The United Nations agency said it had received an opinion from the Trump administration “indicating that financing emergency food aid in 14 countries had been terminated.”
According to the familiar source, USAID has restored its funding for WFP programs in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Ecuador and Somalia.
Jeremy Lewin, a senior USAID official, affiliates the government’s ministry of efficiency, asked by e-mail on Tuesday that layoffs be canceled.
“Sorry for all the back and forth as a reward,” he wrote in the email, which was seen by CNN. “There are a lot of stakeholders and we have to do better to balance these competing interests – this is my fault and I take responsibility.”
A spokesperson for the State Department confirmed that WFP programs had been restored, saying to CNN that “although they were reinstated, the State Department and USAID intend to work with PAM to modify prices in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Ecuador and Somalia to better align with the priorities of the Administration.”
Four contracts supporting the work of the international organization for migration in the Pacific region has also been restored, said the source.
This is not the first time that the agency Creuse by reverse Doge The course after ending a contract for rescue aid. The last overthrow, reported for the first time by Reuters, was mentioned by the spokesperson for the State Department Tammy Bruce during a briefing of the State Department.
“There were a few programs that have been cut in other countries that were not supposed to be cut, which have been fell and put in place,” she said without providing details on the restored programs.
The United States is not “remote from our commitments to provide food aid to life,” she said on Tuesday.
CNN contacted the State Department to comment.
However, many USAID humanitarian aid funds remain reduced, including all of its remaining contracts for Afghanistan and aid to Yemen.
Bruce said on Tuesday that “85% of the USAID programs existing previously with the World Food Program worldwide remain active and in progress”, but noted that “a limited number” has been terminated.
These included programs in Afghanistan and Yemen, she confirmed, saying that they had been canceled “through an executive decree which was issued according to the concern of the financing of terrorist groups, in particular the Houthis and the Taliban”.
A spokesperson for the International Rescue Committee told CNN that the USAID had canceled the financing of their work in Afghanistan, which was “a rescue buoy for the 23 million people estimated in humanitarian needs”. The spokesperson said their work focused on acute food insecurity and some of the most serious forms of malnutrition as well as sanitation services and services for women and children.
USAID has also canceled contracts with WFP for food assistance and other services in Somalia, Niger and Jordan, said the manager. They were among the dozens of contracts for rescue work – a large part of which had already been authorized to continue – which was terminated by USAID last weekend.
Bruce said other prices “have been terminated because they have provided cash assistance, that the administration is moving away from concerns concerning improper use and the lack of appropriate responsibility for American taxpayers here at home”.
Humanitarian officials have criticized the last series of cuts and warned that they may have consequences for life or death.
“This sudden withdrawal of vital humanitarian support will have devastating consequences for millions of people,” said Tom Hart, president and chief executive officer, an alliance of non -governmental organizations.
“We call on the administration to reverse these decisions and collaborate with the implementation of NGOs on a responsible approach to vital aid,” he said. “We also urge the congress to assert its supervisory authority to ensure that American humanitarian commitments are respected.”
This story and this title have been updated with additional developments.
