Boxes labeled USAID. Screenshot from the video “The suspension of USAID funds is already having an impact in Côte d’Ivoire on the RFI YouTube Channel. Fair use.

Many developing countries receive development aid from USAID, a US government agency. The agency’s sudden freeze on funding will likely halt the progress of several African programs.

Every year, the United States pledges more than USD 40 billion to humanitarian aid and international development in developing countries. In Africa, Togo is one of the countries where this aid plays a vital role in many aspects of its community development: education, health, security, and governance. According to the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) 2024 Human Development Report, Togo has made progress, rising from a score of 0.539 in 2021–2022 to 0.547 in 2023–2024. This report states:

…le Togo a enregistré des progrès remarquables à l’instar des précédents rapports. Pour la 5e année consécutive, le pays est classé 1er dans l’espace UEMOA [Union Économique et Monétaire Ouest Africaine] et 4e cette année dans la CEDEAO [Communauté économique des États de l'Afrique de l'Ouest] après le Cap-Vert, le Ghana et le Nigeria.

As in previous reports, Togo has made remarkable progress. For the fifth consecutive year, it topped the ranking at the WAEMU level [West African Economic and Monetary Union]. This year, it ranked fourth at the ECOWAS level [Economic Community of West African States] after Cape Verde, Ghana, and Nigeria.

A hard blow to education support

The Togolese authorities do everything possible to support education for all. At the beginning of the 2024 school year, the primary school enrolment rate was 94.6 percent. However, challenges remain in supporting vulnerable children. School meal programs are in place to prevent disadvantaged children from dropping out of school.

Togo benefits from the McGovern-Dole Food for Education Program that USAID provides. In response to this suspension, the Togolese news website 27avril (27 April) reported:

C’est un programme doté de 33 millions de dollars en 2023. Il est mis en œuvre par Catholic Relief Services (CRS) et devait permettre à des milliers d’écoliers togolais d’avoir accès à un repas quotidien, ce qui permettra de les maintenir à l’école. Le programme avait été prolongé pour cinq ans.

In 2023, this program received USD 33 million. Catholic Relief Services (CRS), an international humanitarian agency, introduced the program to give thousands of Togolese schoolchildren a daily meal, enabling them to stay in school. The agency had extended the program for five years.

What’s more, 27avril also reported plans to introduce a new USD 29 million program:

Une autre enveloppe de 29 millions de dollars était attendue pour un nouveau programme, « Nourriture pour le progrès ». Ce sera en termes de don de produits agricoles américains aux pays en développement et aux démocraties émergentes engagées dans l’introduction ou le développement de la libre entreprise dans leurs économies agricoles. Le Togo attend également ce fonds.

There were plans for another USD 29 million program, “Food for Progress.” This program involves donating US agricultural commodities to developing countries and emerging democracies committed to introducing or expanding free enterprise in their agricultural economies. Togo also expected this funding.

Health progress in decline

Togo has made significant progress in the health sector, partly due to its foreign partners and donors, such as the United States. For the benefit of several African countries, including Togo, the United States is committed to stopping malaria with USAID and combatting HIV/AIDS with its President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) initiative.

Further to this, the news website Togo First published:

Au Togo, le PEPFAR a décaissé 9,2 millions de dollars américians en 2023 et 6,2 millions en 2024, pour financer l’accès aux antirétroviraux pour plus de 300 000 patients, le maintien des services VIH pour 46 000 individus pendant la pandémie de COVID-19, les campagnes de dépistage et le développement des infrastructures de soins. En 2023, l'Initiative du Président des États-Unis contre le Paludisme (PMI) avait annoncé son tout premier financement pour le Togo, avec un investissement de 12 millions de dollars pour la première année du programme.

La suspension des fonds menace directement l’accès aux traitements pour des centaines de milliers de malades et risque d’entraîner une recrudescence de l’épidémie.

En clair, une coupure durable de ces financements pourrait remettre en cause 20 ans de progrès dans la lutte contre le VIH/SIDA au Togo.

In Togo, PEPFAR disbursed USD 9.2 million in 2023 and USD 6.2 million in 2024 to fund antiretrovirals for more than 300,000 patients, HIV services for 46,000 people during the COVID-19 pandemic, screening campaigns, and healthcare infrastructure developments. In 2023, the US President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) pledged its first-ever funding to Togo, investing USD 12 million in the program’s first year.

The suspension of funding directly threatens access to treatment for hundreds of thousands of patients, potentially causing a resurgence in the epidemic.

In short, a long-term cut in funding could jeopardize 20 years of progress made in combatting HIV/AIDS in Togo.

Strengthening security is a major challenge

In addition to education and health, the United States also engages in military matters in Togo.

With Togo facing jihadist incursions and violent extremism, the United States stepped up its military cooperation to combat insecurity in the north of the country bordering Burkina Faso and Benin, where the armed groups and terrorists are present.

In 2023, the United States pledged USD 591,000 to Togo as part of this military cooperation. This support primarily involves training the armed forces on the front line in northern Togo. Togo First reported:

Ces financements permettaient notamment de former les forces de sécurité togolaises et de renforcer la surveillance des frontières face aux menaces djihadistes venues du Sahel.

This funding primarily made it possible to train Togolese security forces and reinforce border surveillance when dealing with jihadist threats from the Sahel.

According to Togo First, there is a real risk of this suspension negatively impacting Togo’s security defense system:

Mais cette suspension pourrait affaiblir encore davantage la coopération militaire entre Lomé et Washington, à un moment où le Togo fait face à une montée de l’instabilité dans le nord du pays.

This suspension could further weaken the military cooperation between Lomé (the capital of Togo) and Washington during the heightened insecurity in northern Togo.

Uncertain future for people implementing programs

Like in all countries where USAID operates, people responsible for implementing Togo’s USAID-funded programs will also suffer. In the north of the country, where the humanitarian situation is at the forefront of several programs, employees must wait at home for at least three months from February 2025 to see whether this decision will be upheld or repealed. Kodzo [pseudonym] told Global Voices:

D'un côté, cette décision de la nouvelle administration américaine est venue comme un coup de massue pour anéantir nos espoirs d'échapper au chômage. Parce que nous sommes sur le terrain chaque jour et nous travaillons auprès des communautés pour leur apporter notre appui. D'un autre côté, nous voyons partir en fumée les efforts de plusieurs années pour un développement des communautés. C'est très dur à accepter et nous devons nous préparer au pire dans la mesure où ils maintiennent leur décision.

On the one hand, the new US administration’s decision comes as a heavy blow, shattering our hopes of escaping unemployment. We work with communities every day, offering our support. On the other hand, we are witnessing several years of community-building efforts go up in smoke. Acceptance is tough, but we must prepare for the worst if they are to uphold their decision.

According to Abidé, a volunteer for a USAID partner organization, whose name she would like to withhold, Donald Trump’s first term as president of the United States (2017–2021) is proof they will uphold this decision. In an interview with Global Voices, she said:

Le président américain est connu pour ses prises de position extrêmes vis-à-vis de la marche actuelle du monde. Sauf un miracle, je me prépare au pire, du moins pour ces quatre années à venir si les portes de l'USAID se ferment définitivement. Aucune lueur d'espoir.

The US president is well known for his extreme views on world affairs. Barring a miracle, I am preparing myself for the worst, at least for the next four years, if USAID’s doors close for good. There is no glimmer of hope.

Like Kodzo and Abidé, other people find themselves in a similar situation, and not just in Togo. Given the importance of US humanitarian aid, this suspension will have more profound consequences if extended. In addition to the United States, Togo receives support from other partner countries and institutions, including China, Germany, France, and the European Union.