Some global health projects whose U.S.-funded contracts were suddenly canceled last week have received letters reversing those decisions, according to media reports.
The reversal came after the Trump administration ended about 90% of contracts funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development and the U.S. State Department.
Democratic lawmakers, along with some Republicans and rights groups, have sharply criticized administration efforts to shut down federally funded humanitarian efforts around the world.
Michael Adekunle Charles, chief executive of the RBM Partnership to End Malaria, said his organization’s letter reversing the cutoff of its funds arrived late Wednesday.
“I think it’s good news. We need to wait in the coming days to get additional guidance,” he told Reuters. “Our priority is saving lives, so the earlier we can get started to continue saving lives, the better.”
Other programs that receive some U.S. funding to respond to tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS also had their cuts reversed.
Still, uncertainty remains.
“It sounds good, but we cannot draw down money,” Dr. Lucica Ditiu, executive director of Stop TB Partnership, told Reuters. “We have no clarity.”
A U.S. State Department spokesperson said the Trump administration had been working to review every dollar spent “to ensure taxpayer resources are being used to make America safer, stronger and more prosperous.”
Trump ordered a 90-day pause on all U.S. foreign aid on his first day back in the White House. Subsequent stop-work orders have drawn USAID operations around the world to a standstill. Most USAID staff have also been placed on leave or fired.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a lower court’s emergency order for the administration to quickly release funding to contractors and recipients of grants from USAID and the State Department. The funding would cover nearly $2 billion for work already performed by the organizations.
Meanwhile, contractors and grant recipients suing the government are asking U.S. District Judge Amir Ali to set a new Monday deadline to release much of the funding for their completed work. The deadline would not apply to the entire $2 billion.
The contractors and grant recipients are also asking for the restoration of most of the foreign aid contracts and grants, which the Trump administration ended last month, while the lawsuit continues.
The administration said that “all legitimate payments” owed to the plaintiffs would be made “within days,” and not more than 10 days, but that foreign payments to other parties not in the lawsuit could take much longer.
Some plaintiffs say that if they are not paid immediately, they are in danger of shuttering.
(Text courtesy: Voice of America/IBNS)
