The turmoil at USAID is crippling the global distribution of food and medicine.

 Although humanitarian aid was meant to be exempt from the disruptions ordered by Trump, shipments of crucial food and medicine are still stuck in ports and warehouses.

Aid workers move bags of USAD lentils in Ethiopia in 2021.

Feb. 5, 2025, 5:09 AM GMT+6 

Shipping containers filled with lifesaving antibiotics and antimalarial drugs are stuck at the Port of Sudan, left in limbo. Essential medicines in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are expiring after a government contractor, facing financial strain, was forced to shut off the air conditioning. Millions of pounds of American-grown soybeans, meant for refugee camps abroad, are now being rerouted to warehouses.

President Donald Trump’s efforts to overhaul the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), a key body focused on alleviating global poverty and providing humanitarian aid, have left crucial food, medicine, and other life-saving supplies stranded, according to nonprofit organizations, farm industry groups, and federal lawmakers.

The administration’s 90-day freeze on foreign aid, a suspension of USAID operations, and the sudden shutdown of the agency’s headquarters have disrupted aid distribution, despite claims that “life-saving humanitarian assistance” would proceed.

Late Tuesday, USAID announced that almost all its direct hires globally will be placed on administrative leave later this week. USAID, responsible for distributing billions of dollars in humanitarian aid, supports over 100 countries with essential aid, costing a fraction of the overall federal budget. However, it’s unclear how much aid is stalled or how long the delay will persist.

The agency’s future now hangs in the balance; Trump has repeatedly criticized it, calling it “run by a bunch of radical lunatics,” and suggesting its spending and staffing need scrutiny. This week, the State Department assumed control of USAID.

Complicating matters, the new process for applying for humanitarian waivers is tangled in confusion and delays. Nonprofits are unclear about the administration’s definition of “lifesaving” aid, and whether the delays in releasing funds are intentional.

Tom Hart, president and CEO of InterAction, a coalition of U.S.-based NGOs, said, “For more than a week, essential lifesaving programs and commodities like food and medicine have been stopped... This is a massive waste of taxpayer money and goodwill, causing devastating humanitarian consequences.”

Even aid groups with waivers to distribute critical HIV medication have faced obstacles, unable to access federal funds for distribution.

Shipping containers filled with aid are being diverted to warehouses, and some, like 33,000 metric tons of soybeans used to treat malnutrition in East Africa, are stuck, according to the American Soybean Association.

Joe Cramer, director of the Michigan Bean Commission, noted, “There’s a carve-out for emergency feeding, so that’s supposed to be flowing, right? But it’s not happening. There’s a freeze on shipping anything.”

The stalling of essential aid has led to rare criticism from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers. Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., tweeted, “I urge @SecRubio to distribute the $340 million in American-grown food currently stalled in U.S. ports to reach those in need... Time is running out before this life-saving aid perishes.”

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., also called on the administration to resume the distribution of HIV drugs under a longstanding initiative. “It is a Republican initiative, it is pro-life, pro-America, and the most popular U.S. program in Africa,” he wrote. “Yet I’m told that drugs are still being held at clinics in Africa. This must be reversed immediately!!”

The State Department did not respond to requests for comment, and spokespeople for Moran and Cassidy provided no updates.

The disruption has forced many humanitarian organizations to suspend their operations. Some have reduced services while trying to stay financially afloat as USAID halts payments, even for services already delivered. A senior leader of one group revealed that their organization was owed nearly $50 million for work done in December and January.

The situation has also led to the loss of essential medicines. One group reported $500,000 worth of antibiotics and antimalarial drugs stuck at the Port of Sudan due to the freeze. Hart of InterAction confirmed this account.

Kaleb Brownlow, a former senior USAID adviser, warned that halting the distribution of medications like HIV antiretrovirals could have serious health consequences, including higher viral loads and the development of drug resistance. He described his final days at USAID as a frantic scramble to reroute essential medicines globally, noting, “There was no attempt to phase this out — it was a complete abandonment.”