The abrupt suspension of foreign aid by the United States has fueled a global humanitarian catastrophe, according to UN human rights experts. The extreme cuts in funding are expected to cost millions of lives worldwide. On Thursday, the experts said the situation was made worse by the US administration’s failure to publish a mandatory review of contracts and disbursements by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
In a letter to the US government, Olivier De Schutter — the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights — and Michael Fakhri — the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food — called for an urgent response, following reports that close to 100 people are dying every hour since the US president signed Executive Order 14169.
The order, signed on January 20, 2025, suspended most foreign aid for 90 days, pending a review. The directive stated that "no further United States foreign assistance shall be disbursed in a manner that is not fully aligned with the foreign policy of the President of the United States."
According to the experts, more than 350,000 deaths resulting from the aid cuts have already been estimated, including over 200,000 children.
“The deplorable decision by the US government to suspend foreign aid is a humanitarian emergency, not a policy adjustment,” Fakhri and De Schutter said.
“The poorest people in the world are dying by the minute as a result of opaque decision-making by some of the richest people to have ever walked our planet.”
The consequences of the funding cuts are being felt harshly across the globe. Humanitarian organizations, including UN agencies and non-governmental aid organizations, have been severely impacted and have responded with drastic measures. These measures include suspending field programs that are essential to saving lives and alleviating human suffering for those in the greatest need.
New figures presented to the experts reveal the devastating impact of the US aid freeze and additional cuts to UN budgets on UN agencies.
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the sexual and reproductive health agency, estimates that at least 32 million people will lose access to its services. The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) estimates that 11.6 million refugees and other displaced people could lose access to life-saving interventions. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reports that 10 million people may miss out on emergency assistance.
Tom Fletcher, the UN humanitarian chief, has warned that millions of people worldwide will die due to a critical crisis in global humanitarian funding triggered by severe US funding cuts. UN Secretary-General António Guterres has warned that the consequences of severe cuts to humanitarian and development funding will be particularly devastating for the world's most vulnerable people.
Executive Order 14169 (EO 14169) mandated a 90-day review of U.S. foreign aid to assess its alignment with domestic policy priorities. Six months later, critical health, food, and humanitarian programs remain suspended or canceled, and no findings from the review have been released.
EO 14169 mandates that, based on the review's recommendations, determinations must be made "whether to continue, modify, or cease each foreign assistance program, with the concurrence of the Secretary of State."
Numerous organizations and court filings have questioned whether a meaningful review ever took place. Existing court records and insider accounts also suggest that the process may not have adhered to the order's own procedural requirements.
The situation surrounding EO 14169 raises serious legal concerns, suggesting that its implementation most likely violates US law. If departments and agencies failed to document those reviews, or if decisions were made without them, they failed to meet the order’s legal requirements. This would render all resulting decisions arbitrary and unlawful.
“There is no transparency, no accountability, and no clear justification for a decision that will ultimately cost millions of lives,” the UN experts said on Thursday.
They expressed alarm at a recent directive instructing all US embassies to implement the State Department’s plan to eliminate all USAID overseas positions by September 30, 2025, further dismantling the infrastructure needed to deliver essential services in poverty-stricken regions.
“Issuing such a sweeping directive without having publicly disclosed the review’s findings – particularly the impact of cuts on poverty and human rights – is deeply problematic,” De Schutter and Fakhri said.
They also raised concerns that no meaningful consultation had taken place with affected UN agencies, civil society groups, or partner organization that implement aid.
“The US has long been a cornerstone of global development. Instead, right now, it is derailing decades of progress in poverty eradication and leaving the world’s poorest people to die,” the experts said.
“We urge the US to recommit to the international human rights system it played such a central role in creating and restore funding immediately.”
Further information
Website: UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
https://www.ohchr.org/en/special-procedures/sr-poverty
Website: UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food
https://www.ohchr.org/en/special-procedures/sr-food