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How the suspension of USAID programs will affect the social sector: Zholnovych explains the situation

Kseniya KapustynskaNews
Oksana Zholnovych
Oksana Zholnovych. Source: Ministry of Social Policy, USAID

The termination of funding for USAID projects in Ukraine by U.S. President Donald Trump will not have a critical impact on social sector funding. The fact is that Ukraine receives funds for social assistance to the population mostly under other programs.

This was stated by the Minister of Social Policy Oksana Zholnovych at the press briefing "A Year of Changes and Achievements in Social Protection." "The suspension of non-military aid from the United States has not yet affected the financing of our projects in Ukraine," the head of the Ministry of Social Policy said.

According to her, Ukraine has "a large number of agreements" with partners from Europe, the UK, and the World Bank. In addition, American aid for Ukrainian state social programs did not go through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

"The suspension of American funding does not apply to large projects that are included in the budget. It concerns support for the public sector," Zholnovych said.

According to her, the Ministry of Social Policy is currently analyzing the consequences of the termination of funding for USAID projects. In particular, it is being established which of the many contractors were left without financial support.

"Since we have a large number of partners, I can't say yet for which of them the funding will stop, we are just finding out. But in general, the situation is not critical for us," the minister said.

USAID programs in Ukraine are on pause: what is known

On Friday, January 24, the U.S. State Department issued a "shutdown" order for all existing foreign aid and suspended new aid to comply with President Donald Trump's order. Representatives of the USAID agency, which is responsible for non-military US assistance to other countries, were also instructed to suspend projects related to Ukraine.

The suspension is expected to last 85 days. After that, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will submit a report to Trump indicating which foreign aid programs should be continued and which should be permanently closed. The purpose of the review is to assess whether each program meets the political goals of the US administration.

Among the frozen projects in Ukraine are school support and health care assistance, including emergency maternal care and childhood vaccinations, USAID officials said. According to media reports, Ukrainian diplomats and US officials are trying to exclude Ukraine from Trump's directive. In particular, the Financial Times reported that representatives of the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs of the US State Department urged the US Secretary of State to consider removing Ukraine from the audit altogether, given its critical situation.

At the same time, Svitlana Musiiaka, senior associate researcher at the Independent Anti-Corruption Commission (NAKO), warned of possible negative consequences of the termination of USAID funding in Ukraine. However, as she noted, specific changes depend on many nuances.

"The most important thing is the signal we will receive based on the results of the final decision. It could be interpreted as a decrease in US support for democratic reforms and economic stability in Ukraine," Musiiaka said.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government responsible for non-military assistance to other countries. It was founded in 1961 and operates in 158 countries.

In Ukraine, USAID provides assistance in such areas as economic development, democracy and governance, energy security, health care, and the social sector. Since the start of the full-scale war on February 24, 2022, the agency has provided more than $2.6 billion in humanitarian assistance and another $5 billion in development assistance. In addition, $30 billion in direct budget support was allocated.

As OBOZ.UA reported earlier, the Pentagon confirmed that US President Donald Trump's decree to suspend international support does not affect military assistance to Ukraine. All contracts concluded by the Joe Biden administration for the manufacture and supply of weapons to Ukraine remain in force.

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