NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 28 — Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’Oei has expressed concern over the recent decision by the United States to pause foreign assistance.
In a statement issued on Monday, Sing’Oei warned that the move could have far-reaching consequences for African nations.
He noted that the suspension of US aid would significantly hinder the ability of many African countries to achieve health targets and other development goals, potentially derailing progress towards the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“The announced pause to US Foreign Assistance will unfortunately impair the ability of many African countries to meet health and other targets and undermine the realization of SDGs,” he said.
The Principal Secretary called on President Donald Trump’s administration to explore alternative measures to cushion vulnerable populations who rely heavily on foreign assistance for essential services.
“We hope President Trump’s administration will provide new pathways for cushioning most vulnerable populations,” he added.
Despite the potential negative implications of the funding pause, Sing’Oei emphasized the importance of African nations seizing this moment to reduce their dependence on foreign aid.
He called on governments across the continent to adopt self-reliant strategies to address pressing development needs.
“Equally, African states must rise up to the challenge and seize the opportunity to wean themselves from external dependency,” he said.
The suspension of US foreign aid has raised alarm among development experts, with many cautioning that it could exacerbate poverty and undermine public health programs in several African nations.
On January 20, following his swearing in, President Donald Trump signed an executive order halting all U.S. foreign development aid for 90 days to allow the “assessment of programmatic efficiencies and consistency with United States foreign policy.”
“All department and agency heads with responsibility for United States foreign development assistance programs shall immediately pause new obligations and disbursements of development assistance funds to foreign countries and implementing non- governmental organizations, international organizations, and contractors pending reviews of such programs for programmatic efficiency and consistency with United States foreign policy, to be conducted within 90 days of this order,” read the order.
He tasked the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) enforcing the pause through its apportionment authority.
