Trump's USAID freeze must serve as awakening for Africa | Health

On January 20, President Donald Trump sanctioned a 90-day suspension of foreign aid, a decision that affected all the financial support allocated by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The decision has a deep impact and generates a widespread alarm worldwide, no more than in Africa.

In 2023, USAID allocated a total of $ 12.1 billion to Subsahara countries in Africa to improve healthcare, provide food assistance and promote security. It is critical that USAID is distributing funds for the US President's emergency plan to facilitate AIDS (PEPFAR), the Global Fund for Combating AIDS.

The 90-day freezing of funding causes significant suffering throughout Africa, as millions of people dependent on the services supported by the US government are now facing a discouraging and uncertain future.

On February 6, in a comprehensive briefing to parliament, South Africa's Minister of Health Aaron Motoaledi outlined Pepfar's broad effect on HIV's response in the country. He revealed that Pepfar contributes to 17 percent of total funding, exceeding $ 7.5 billion ($ 407 million) and supporting various programs for 7.8 million South Africans living with HIV/AIDS, the highest figure in the world. He also said that over 15,000 health officers, including nurses, pharmacists and directors, are rewarded through PEPFAR.

HIV/AIDS's response in South Africa is certainly in an uncertain state now, provided that the quirky, aggressive and vengeful political program of the Trump administration. Nevertheless, the truth is that this “USAID crisis” may have been prevented if the South African nation took responsibility for its social and economic questions first, instead of delegating them into a foreign country that has now become hostile.

As the most advanced, diversified and productive economy in Africa, South Africa should not rely excessively on PEPFAR, especially as much as USAID funding becomes a major component of its health budget.

This dependence on USAID funding is actually a symptom of a more critical problem in the healthcare and government system as a whole: widespread, mismanagement and corruption. Each year, due to gross abuse and unverified corruption, South Africa loses billions of RAND, funds that are essential to dealing with vital needs for the provision of services, including those related to HIV/Aids Healthcare.

Trembis Hospital (TPTH), a public establishment under the auspices of the Gaucent Ministry of Health, serves as a prominent example of the extensive deprivation caused by corruption practices. In August 2024, the Special Investigation Unit (SIU), an independent South African Government Agency, responsible for the investigation of abuse in state -owned enterprises (DPs), announced that corruption networks have caused financial losses over 3 billion RAND, as evidence of the participation of senior hospital employees.

For several years now, the hospital has been struggling to fulfill its obligations to provide services and has been confronted with significant resource restrictions, including a critical shortage of specialized staff and equipment that in some cases have led to preventive deaths.

Unfortunately, unfortunately, the wasteful costs and fraud observed in TPTH are representative of a widespread trend.

Last year, the South Africa General (AGSA) found that the Gautg-only government government one of the nine provincial authorities in South Africa made 9,879 billion Rand at irregular expenses in the financial 2023-24 year. Moreover, the irregular expenses in 2024 reached 50.65 billion Rand in 38 government services, while 27 state -owned enterprises recorded a total of 69.35 billion Rand.

When contextualized, such high numbers show that $ 7.5 billion in the US annual assistance to South Africa is insignificant compared to significant billions that have been lost as a result of fraud, mismanagement and corruption.

By promoting the culture of clean and responsible management, South Africa can significantly reduce or completely eliminate its problematic dependence on the United States in healthcare and outside. A similar situation exists in Kenya, where the US is committed to providing $ 207 million for help for 2024.

Stopping help from Washington in one case threatened the health of HIV-positive orphanages residing at Nyumbani's Children's House in Nairobi. Between 1999 and 2023, USAID and Pepfar contributed more than $ 16 million to the orphanage, which allowed him to support approximately 50,000 children through his rescue center and two propaganda initiatives, Lea Toto and the village of Nyumbani.

Without the necessary funding, thousands of vulnerable children can break seriously or die. Many more young people may be deprived of vital services for HIV/AIDS consultation.

Kenya, like South Africa, has the opportunity to get out of the grip of the US help industry and to support orphans such as Nyumbani's Children's House through its own funding. However, this can only happen if the Kenyan government accepts a strong position against corruption, reassess the government's costs and focuses on strengthening effective governance

According to the findings of the Ethics and Anti -Corruption Commission, corruption costs approximately 608 billion Kenyan shillings a year ($ 4.7 billion) by Kenya, equivalent to 7.8 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP).

Nairobi is responsible to take care of the most ranked citizens. The children of Nyumbani's children's home should not rely on Washington for HIV/AIDS services. The main reason why these orphans are in such a challenging situation is the indifference of Kenya's self -service politicians to their well -being and the overall well -being of the nation.

About 37.5 percent of the Kenyan population is considered to be a multidimensional poor, which means that they are deprived of many aspects of life, including health, education and standard of living, measured by the global multidimensional poverty index (MPI). However, Kenyan President William Ruto, on March 16, 2023, appointed the most inflated administration in the recent history of the East African nation.

Ruto, a veteran politician, was also ranked second in the organized crime and corruption (OCCRP) reporting project 2024 corrupt face of the year prizeAfter former Syria, Silman Bashar al -Assad. This award, disturbing, distinguishes leaders who are believed to be actively promoting global organized crime and corruption.

Meanwhile, in West Africa, Nigeria presents a more captivating case than Kenya.

On February 14, Nigeria approved a $ 200 million funding allocation to mitigate the expected deficit in 2025 as a result of a reduction in health care in the United States. In 2023, the United States provided over $ 600 million in Nigeria health support, representing over 21 percent of the nation's annual health budget, mainly to malaria prevention, HIV elimination and vaccine distribution.

Nevertheless, many of Nigeria's socio-economic challenges are largely self-imposed. She should strive for greater self-sufficiency, not relying on American help. The country has a huge economic potential – a potential that cannot be fulfilled because of, among other things, significant corruption and waste. Nigeria loses approximately $ 18 billion each year from financial violations and corruption processes for public procurement. Corruption, according to a exploration Compiled by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) Nigeria in 2016, it can reach 37 percent of the country's GDP by 2030.

The report identifies three major consequences of corruption, a more special decline in the effectiveness of management, which is mainly due to a reduced tax base and the inefficient allocation of government resources.

Nigeria – which experiences a wave of #Endbadgovernance Protests in 2024 – it certainly has resources and opportunities to get rid of the US help permanently. To achieve this, the country must prioritize the implementation of a strong, progressive and principled governance.

From Zimbabwe to Uganda and Tanzania, the acquisition of independence from the so -called favor of the West must be seen as a decisive element of Africa's post -colonial success.

The painful and often humiliating contradiction of Western countries providing billions to help ineffective and gloomy African governments that chaired resource -rich countries should not remain the norm.

African nations must immediately take full and unskilled responsibility for the permanent challenges that so many of their unequal communities face.

The life of everyday Africans should not depend on the help of the US and the whims of Western politicians. Africa can and should take care of their people.

The anger expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazee's editorial position.