US Dissolves USAID into State Department: What It Means for Africa

The U.S. Agency for International Development has been officially dissolved as of July 1, 2025. All its foreign-aid programs, previously run by an independent agency, now fall under the direct control of the State Department

Secretary of State Marco Rubio framed this move as ending “government-sanctioned inefficiency,” promising that aid will be more tightly aligned with U.S. national interests, with “more accountability, strategy, and efficiency” under the State Department’s umbrella.

Following President Trump’s January executive order pausing foreign aid, Rubio had already cancelled roughly 5,200 USAID contracts, about 83% of its portfolio, by March 10, 2025, leaving only 1,000 programs to be transitioned to the State Department

Impact on African Development

Before its shutdown, USAID operated in over 100 countries with more than 10,000 staff. In 2024 alone, it delivered $6.5 billion in humanitarian aid to sub-Saharan Africa and, in fiscal 2023, directed $10.6 billion toward HIV/AIDS and $1.5 billion to combat Ebola, malaria, and tuberculosis.

Critical programs, like malaria prevention in Nigeria and Uganda, agricultural resilience in the Sahel, and civil-society support in Sudan, now face uncertainty

Economic and Job-Creation Programs at Risk

Beyond health, USAID drove trade and employment: under the African Growth and Opportunity Act, its East African Trade and Investment Hub generated $600 million in exports and created 40,000 jobs between 2014 and 2019. Its Feed the Future initiative also cut rural poverty in Uganda by 16% from 2010 to 2013

Experts warn that without USAID’s established infrastructure and a clear transition plan, the State Department may struggle to maintain existing programs, leading to funding gaps, delays, and potential program collapses

Call for Partnership Over Dependency

With traditional donors scaling back, Germany, France, Norway, and the U.K. have all reduced aid in recent years.

African governments spending under 10% of GDP on health (about $4.5 billion versus the $26 billion needed annually), African leaders now urge a shift from aid to equitable partnerships focused on trade, investment, human-capital development, and infrastructure.

At the U.S.Africa Business Summit in Luanda, President João Lourenço of Angola called for “the logic of ambition and private investment” to replace aid dependency