
Trump's funding cut stalls water projects, increasing risks for millions
Reuters has identified 21 unfinished projects in 16 countries after speaking to 17 sources familiar with the infrastructure plans. Most of these projects have not previously been reported.
With hundreds of millions of dollars in funding canceled since January, workers have put down their shovels and left holes half dug and building supplies unguarded, according to interviews with US and local officials and internal documents seen by Reuters.
As a result, millions of people who were promised clean drinking water and reliable sanitation facilities by the United States have been left to fend for themselves.
Water towers intended to serve schools and health clinics in Mali have been abandoned, according to two US officials who spoke on condition of anonymity. In Nepal, construction was halted on more than 100 drinking water systems, leaving plumbing supplies and 6,500 bags of cement in local communities. The Himalayan nation will use its own funds to finish the job, according to the country's water minister Pradeep Yadav.
In Lebanon, a project to provide cheap solar power to water utilities was scrapped, costing some 70 people their jobs and halting plans to improve regional services. The utilities are now relying on diesel and other sources to power their services, said Suzy Hoayek, an adviser to Lebanon's energy ministry.
In Kenya, residents of Taita Taveta County say they are now more vulnerable to flooding than they had been before, as half-finished irrigation canals could collapse and sweep away crops. Community leaders say it will cost $2,000 to lower the risk – twice the average annual income in the area.
'I have no protection from the flooding that the canal will now cause. The floods will definitely get worse,' said farmer Mary Kibachia, 74.
Trump's dismantling of the US Agency for International Development has left life-saving food and medical aid rotting in warehouses and thrown humanitarian efforts around the world into turmoil. The cuts may cause an additional 14 million deaths by 2030, according to research published in The Lancet medical journal. The Trump administration and its supporters argue that the United States should spend its money to benefit Americans at home rather than sending it abroad, and say USAID had strayed from its original mission by funding projects like LGBT rights in Serbia.
With an annual budget of $450 million, the US water projects accounted for a small fraction of the $61 billion in foreign aid distributed by the United States last year.
Before Trump's reelection in November, the water projects had not been controversial in Washington. A 2014 law that doubled funding passed both chambers of Congress unanimously.
Advocates say the United States has over the years improved the lives of tens of millions of people by building pumps, irrigation canals, toilets and other water and sanitation projects. That means children are less likely to die of water-borne diseases like diarrhea, girls are more likely to stay in school, and young men are less likely to be recruited by extremist groups, said John Oldfield, a consultant and lobbyist for water infrastructure projects.
'Do we want girls carrying water on their heads for their families? Or do you want them carrying school books?' he said. The US State Department, which has taken over foreign aid from USAID, did not respond to a request for comment about the impact of halting the water projects. The agency has restored some funding for life-saving projects, but Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said American assistance will be more limited going forward. At least one water project has been restarted. Funding for a $6 billion desalination plant in Jordan was restored after a diplomatic push by King Abdullah.
But the funding cuts to other projects mean women in those areas will have to walk for hours to collect unsafe water, children will face increased disease risk and health facilities will be shuttered, said Tjada D'Oyen McKenna, CEO of Mercy Corps, a nonprofit that worked with USAID on water projects in Congo, Nigeria and Afghanistan that were intended to benefit 1.7 million people.
'This isn't just the loss of aid — it's the unraveling of progress, stability, and human dignity,' she said.
The United States is not the only country to limit its foreign assistance, citing domestic priorities. Britain, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden have also made cuts.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development projects a 9 percent to 17 percent drop in net official development assistance in 2025, following a 9 percent decline in 2024.
In eastern Congo, where fighting between Congolese forces and M23 rebels has claimed thousands of lives, defunct USAID water kiosks now serve as play areas for children.
Evelyne Mbaswa, 38, told Reuters her 16-year-old son went to fetch water in June and never came home – a familiar reality to families in the violence-wracked region.
'When we send young girls, they are raped, young boys are kidnapped.... All this is because of the lack of water,' the mother of nine said, without providing specifics.
Reuters was unable to confirm her account of such attacks.
A spokesperson for the Congolese government did not respond to requests for comment. In Kenya, USAID was in the midst of a five-year, $100 million project that aimed to provide drinking water and irrigation systems for 150,000 people when contractors and staffers were told in January to stop their work, according to internal documents seen by Reuters. Only 15 percent of the work had been completed at that point, according to a May 15 memo by DAI Global LLC, the contractor on the project.
That has left open trenches and deep holes that pose acute risks for children and livestock and left $100,000 worth of pipes, fencing and other materials exposed at construction sites, where they could degrade or be looted, according to other correspondence seen by Reuters. USAID signage at those sites makes clear who is responsible for the half-finished work, several memos say.
That could hurt the United States' reputation and potentially give a boost to extremist groups seeking fresh recruits in the region, according to a draft memo from the US embassy in Nairobi to the State Department seen by Reuters. Reuters could not confirm if the memo was sent and if revisions were made to it prior to sending. The State Department did not respond to requests for comment.
The Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabab group based in Somalia has been responsible for a string of high-profile attacks in Kenya, including an assault on a university in 2015 that killed at least 147 people.
'The reputational risk of not finishing these projects could turn into a security risk,' the memo said.
Al Shabab could not be immediately reached for comment. The Kenyan government did not respond to requests for comment.
In Kenya's Taita Taveta, a largely rural county that has endured cyclical drought and flooding, workers had only managed to build brick walls along 220 meters of the 3.1-kilometer irrigation canal when they were ordered to stop, community leaders said. And those walls have not been plastered, leaving them vulnerable to erosion.
'Without plaster, the walls will collapse in heavy rain, and the flow of water will lead to the destruction of farms,' said Juma Kubo, a community leader.
The community has asked the Kenyan government and international donors to help finish the job, at a projected cost of 68 million shillings .
In the meantime, they plan to sell the cement and steel cables left on site, Kubo said, to raise money to plaster and backfill the canal.
The county government needs to find 'funds to at least finish the project to the degree we can with the materials we have, if not complete it fully,' said Stephen Kiteto Mwagoti, an irrigation officer working for the county.
The Kenyan government did not respond to a request for comment. For Kibachia, who has lived with flooding for years, help cannot come soon enough.
Three months after work stopped on the project, her mud hut was flooded with thigh-deep water.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Al Arabiya
6 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Judge Dismisses Trump Administration Lawsuit Against Chicago 'Sanctuary' Laws
A judge in Illinois dismissed a Trump administration lawsuit Friday that sought to disrupt limits Chicago imposes on cooperation between federal immigration agents and local police. The lawsuit filed in February alleged that so-called sanctuary laws in the nation's third-largest city thwart federal efforts to enforce immigration laws. It argued that local laws run counter to federal laws by restricting local governments from sharing immigration information with federal law enforcement officials and preventing immigration agents from identifying individuals who may be subject to removal. Judge Lindsay Jenkins of the Northern District of Illinois granted the defendants' motion for dismissal. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said he was pleased with the decision and the city is safer when police focus on the needs of Chicagoans. 'This ruling affirms what we have long known: that Chicago's Welcoming City Ordinance is lawful and supports public safety. The City cannot be compelled to cooperate with the Trump Administration's reckless and inhumane immigration agenda,' he said in a statement. The US Department of Homeland Security didn't immediately respond to an email seeking comment. Heavily Democratic Chicago has been a sanctuary city for decades and has beefed up its laws several times including during Trump's first term in 2017. That same year then-Gov. Bruce Rauner a Republican signed more statewide sanctuary protections into law putting him at odds with his party.


Leaders
9 hours ago
- Leaders
UK to Hold Urgent Talks with France, Germany over Gaza War
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced that he would hold an 'emergency call' on Friday with France and Germany to discuss the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, according to Reuters. 'We are witnessing a humanitarian catastrophe,' Starmer said. Call for Urgent Ceasefire He called for an urgent ceasefire and steps towards the establishment of a Palestinian state. 'I will hold an emergency call with E3 partners tomorrow, where we will discuss what we can do urgently to stop the killing and get people the food they desperately need while pulling together all the steps necessary to build a lasting peace,' he said in a statement on Thursday. Starmer also noted that the immediate ceasefire will 'put us on a path' to the recognition of a Palestinian state and a two-state solution which guarantees peace and security for both Palestinians and Israelis. Furthermore, the PM stated that the situation in Gaza has 'reached new depths and continues to deteriorate,' nearly 21 months after the beginning of the war in October 2023. 'The suffering and starvation unfolding in Gaza is unspeakable and indefensible,' Starmer said. Mounting Pressure on Israel Currently, the Israeli government is facing mounting international pressure as well as criticism to allow a massive increase in humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza amid growing concerns of imminent famine. Since the beginning of Hamas-Israel War in Gaza in 2023, the Israeli strikes have killed more than 57,000 Palestinians and wounded more than 137,000, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. On Thursday, President Emmanuel Macron announced that France will recognize a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly in September. 'True to its historic commitment to a just and lasting peace in the Middle East, I have decided that France will recognize the State of Palestine. I will make a formal announcement at the United Nations General Assembly in September,' the French head of state wrote on X and Instagram. Moreover, Canada has condemned Israel's failure to put an end to the unthinkable humanitarian conditions in Gaza after almost 21 months of war, according to Al Arabiya. In a post on X, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney described the humanitarian situation in Gaza as 'disaster,' accusing Israel of violating international law by blocking the Canadian-funded aid from delivery to civilians in Gaza. 'Canada calls on all sides to negotiate an immediate ceasefire in good faith. We reiterate our calls for Hamas to immediately release all the hostages, and for the Israeli government to respect the territorial integrity of the West Bank and Gaza,' Carney said. Related Topics: Time for Decisive Action: Over 100 Aid Agencies Warn of Mass Starvation in Gaza EU Urges Israel to Halt Killings at Gaza Aid Points US Envoy to Finalize Gaza Aid Corridor Amid Starvation Crisis Short link : Post Views: 100


Leaders
9 hours ago
- Leaders
Canada Condemns Israel over Gaza's ‘Humanitarian Disaster'
Canada has condemned Israel's failure to put an end to the unthinkable humanitarian conditions in Gaza after almost 21 months of war, according to Al Arabiya. In a post on X, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney described the humanitarian situation in Gaza as 'disaster,' accusing Israel of violating international law by blocking the Canadian-funded aid from delivery to civilians in Gaza. 'Canada calls on all sides to negotiate an immediate ceasefire in good faith. We reiterate our calls for Hamas to immediately release all the hostages, and for the Israeli government to respect the territorial integrity of the West Bank and Gaza,' Carney said. Canada condemns the Israeli government's failure to prevent the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian disaster in Gaza. Israel's control of aid distribution must be replaced by comprehensive provision of humanitarian assistance led by international organizations. Many of these are… — Mark Carney (@MarkJCarney) July 25, 2025 Supporting Two-State Solution Carney also stressed that Canada would support a two-state solution that 'guarantees peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians.' Thus, it will intensify its efforts in all fora to achieve that goal, including through the participation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs at the UN High-Level Conference on a Two-State Solution in New York next week. In April, Carney also denounced Israeli blockade on supplies in Gaza, noting that food must not be used as a 'political tool,' according to Reuters. 'The UN World Food Programme just announced that its food stocks in Gaza have run out because of the Israeli Government's blockade — food cannot be used as a political tool,' Carney said on X. The UN agency revealed that Gaza has not received any humanitarian or commercial supplies for over seven weeks as a result to the closure of all main border crossing points. This blockade marked the longest closure in Gaza since the beginning of the war. 'We will continue to work with our allies toward a permanent ceasefire and the immediate return of all hostages,' Carney stated. Since the beginning of Hamas-Israel War in Gaza in 2023, the Israeli strikes have killed more than 57,000 Palestinians and wounded more than 137,000, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Related Topics: US Envoy to Finalize Gaza Aid Corridor Amid Starvation Crisis France Urges Israel to Allow Independent Press into Gaza Strip Israel Kills Dozens of Palestinians at Aid Site in Gaza Short link : Post Views: 19