President Donald Trump speaks to reporters onboard Air Force One en route to Joint Base Andrews, Md., Jan. 27, 2025. The sense of crisis among aid groups worldwide is surging, as American officials tell groups they must obey an almost universal stop-work order issued by Secretary of State Marco Rubio after Trump's directive.

U.S. foreign aid plays a critical role in tackling poverty, hunger, and inequality worldwide, which is why the Trump administration’s proposed freeze on foreign development assistance was met with public outrage and pushback from organizations, including Oxfam.

Many of the frozen programs are aimed at alleviating disease and malnutrition, but even security programs with U.S. funding are shutting down.

President Donald Trump’s 90-day pause on nearly all U.S. foreign aid froze a globe-spanning apparatus that provides assistance ranging from weapons of war to lifesaving medicines.

A new directive from Secretary of State Marco Rubio says medical and humanitarian operations can continue, though the precise meaning of what's allowed remains unclear.

Even as a federal judge temporarily pauses President Trump's order to freeze federal funding assistance, the State Department has already taken sweeping measures to halt foreign aid, sparking panic among international aid groups.

The United States has canceled some aid programs for other countries, namely life-saving projects, The New York Times reports. On Tuesday, January 28, the administration of President Donald Trump partially abandoned the order to terminate almost all US foreign aid programs.

In a move that global health workers say will likely have devastating consequences for women and girls throughout the world, President Donald has reinstated a policy that bans foreign aid workers from offering information about abortion,