Trump funding cut stalls water projects, raising risk for millions

Yahoo

19-07-2025

SHOWS:
STORY: In a rural part of southern Kenya, what was meant to be a nearly two-mile-long irrigation canal sits unfinished.
Building materials are abandoned. A sign proudly declares this project was funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID.
The canal was meant to deliver water to farmers, and to prevent devastating flooding that had plagued this area.
But, left unfinished, what little has been done actually poses a risk.
Juma Kobo is a local community leader.
'It will collapse if nothing is done anytime soon, it is going to collapse and the flow of water with the destruction of some of the previous infrastructure, it will lead to more destruction to farms and to homes.''
Reuters has found that the Trump administration's decision to slash nearly all U.S. foreign aid has left dozens of water and sanitation projects half-finished across the globe.
Twenty-one unfinished projects in 16 countries have been identified after speaking to 17 sources familiar with the infrastructure plans.
Most of these projects have not been previously reported.
Interviews and internal documents show that, with hundreds of millions of dollars in funding cancelled since January, workers have put down their shovels and left holes half dug and building supplies unguarded.
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.
With an annual budget of $450 million, the U.S. water projects accounted for a small fraction of the $61 billion in foreign aid distributed by the United States last year.
But it was money that had potentially lifesaving consequences in places like eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
In an area where fighting between Congolese forces and M23 rebels has claimed thousands of lives, women and children hike for dangerous miles to wash clothes and collect water.
A hydrant here was built with USAID funding, but plans for a larger reservoir have been scrapped.
Evelyn Mbaswa said her 16-year-old son left home last week to collect water. He never returned.
''The children leave the house as early as 4 a.m. and return home around 5 p.m. without a drop of water. When we send young girls, they are raped; when we send young boys, they are kidnapped. I lost a boy a week ago, and he's still missing without a trace. It's all because of the lack of water."
The U.S. 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.
Solve the daily Crossword