Violence Surged in Africa After USAID Cuts

President Trump's decision last year to dissolve the US Agency for International Development—once a leading global aid donor—has been followed by a significant increase in violence in several African countries that the agency had supported, according to a study published on Thursday. While the authors did not blame the USAID cuts for the increase in violence, the AP reports, they said the findings demonstrate that "large-scale, sudden aid cuts can destabilize fragile settings." They added that this is not evidence that more aid reduces conflict, only that it shows "the effect of a sudden and unexpected disruption."

For years, USAID had provided crucial support to African countries beset with conflict and violence. By eliminating more than 90% of foreign aid contracts, the Trump administration effectively cut some $60 billion in funding. The study by researchers from several universities in Europe and the US found the quick withdrawal of USAID resources also interrupted contracts, staffing, and aid procurement. "The abrupt withdrawal of USAID led to a significant and sustained increase in conflict across Africa's most USAID-dependent regions," said the study, published in the Science journal. The researchers said they examined whether the abrupt shutdown of USAID was followed by an increase in violence in regions of Africa that had historically received the most support and found a correlation.

USAID had long been a vital funding partner to governments and groups responding to crises across different sectors. In Nigeria, USAID support helped victims of the militant Boko Haram group, which emerged in 2002. In Ethiopia's fragile Tigray region, officials relied heavily on US funds as full-scale recovery efforts were yet to start after the war there killed hundreds of thousands. And in northern Ivory Coast, a front line of the global fight against extremism, USAID made significant financial commitments to counter the spread of al-Qaida and the Islamic State group. The study suggests the impact of the cuts will be permanent. "The lasting problem with the shuttering of USAID is likely going to be that for much of its conflict prevention work, even if you put back all the money ... the experience is gone," said Nathaniel Raymond of the Yale School of Public Health, who was not among the study's authors.