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Mozambique: USAID employees return to work in Maputo – Carta
6:52 CAT | 11 Feb 2025
File photo: Carta de Moçambique
Employees of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in Mozambique returned to their jobs this week after the temporary suspension of US President Donald Trump’s executive order to close the organization, which was by 2024 responsible for more than 42% of humanitarian aid worldwide.
A federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked Donald Trump’s executive order to furlough thousands of the organization’s workers. The case was brought to court by two civil servant unions, claiming that Trump’s orders exposed the agency’s workers abroad to undue hardship and risk. The unions also argued that the US head of state does not have the authority to close USAID without Congressional approval.
USAID sources in Maputo assured ‘Carta’ that the institution resumed its activities this week and employees should remain in their posts until at least Friday, February 14, awaiting the outcome of the case.
However, they emphasize that not all areas of the organization have resumed activities. Areas such as prevention, circumcision and gender-based violence in the health sector remain suspended.
It was not possible to obtain official confirmation.
Since January 24, USAID, under orders from Marco Rubio, the US Secretary of State, has suspended all projects it finances worldwide. In Mozambique, the measure includes travel from Maputo to the provinces and vice versa, and from the provincial capitals to the districts.
The US State Department claims that USAID “has long strayed from its original mission of responsibly advancing American interests abroad”. The source believes that, with the suspension of funding worldwide, “it is quite clear that significant portions of USAID funding are not aligned with the fundamental national interests of the United States”.
READ: Mozambique will continue to have access to US-funded HIV/AIDS treatment – Rádio Moçambique
With the announcement of the suspension of US funding, dozens of projects in Mozambique, including the Millennium Challenge Corporation, are at risk. So far, only projects to combat HIV/AIDS have been guaranteed, in which the United States invests US$400 million annually.
READ: Watchdog warns Trump’s gutting of USAID leaves $8.2 billion unspent aid with no oversight
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Source: Carta de Moçambique
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