Mercy Corps: The Human Toll of U.S. Foreign Aid Cuts Six Months On 

July 17, 2025

Six months after the U.S. Government began terminating nearly 10,000 foreign aid programs, millions of people around the world have been cut off from food, water, shelter, health care, and other life-saving support. The human consequences have been devastating and are still mounting.  

Independent data paints a grim picture. The Lancet warns that these cuts could result in 2.4 million preventable deaths annually and 14 million by 2030 if cuts continue – including 4.5 million deaths among children younger than five. 

In Sudan, where 13 million people are displaced and 600,000 face catastrophic hunger, the U.S. had been the largest donor – providing 44% of total humanitarian aid. In Somalia, where 4.4 million people face acute hunger, the U.S. had provided approximately 65% of humanitarian aid, with cuts forcing nutrition and health centers to close and putting thousands more, especially malnourished children, at risk. 

Mercy Corps was forced to terminate 42 programs that had the potential to reach over 3.6 million people this year in crisis hot spots including Nigeria, Sudan, Afghanistan, Somalia, Gaza, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. 

In Nigeria, a mother named Yagana Usman lost her child just days after a U.S.-funded nutrition program was shut down. “He keeps losing weight. I don’t have enough breast milk, and I can’t afford other food. Please re-open the center,” she pleaded. Her child was one of over 55,000 who had been receiving life-saving therapeutic food before the program was abruptly terminated. 

Mercy Corps Vice President of Global Policy and Advocacy, Kate Phillips-Barrasso, says: 

“The fallout has been swift, sweeping, and catastrophic – and the consequences can be measured in lives lost and futures uprooted. Kids who once relied on a school feeding program for one nutritious meal a day are now going hungry; parents who relied on health clinics to save their malnourished children are now watching them die; wells and pumps to provide safe drinking water lie half-dug and unfinished because funding was abruptly stopped.  

"It's not just lives at stake: It’s entire systems unravelling. It’s the rollback of decades of progress. U.S. foreign assistance has helped build safer, healthier, and more self-reliant communities, which not only directly saved lives around the world, but furthered safety, security, and opportunities for the American people. We’re seeing that evaporate before our eyes. 

"It is not too late to reverse this dangerous course. Congress must reject the Administration’s proposed 80% cuts to foreign aid. Even if the U.S. does not restore funding to previous levels, what remains must be directed toward fragile and conflict-affected countries, places like Sudan, Somalia, Gaza, Nigeria, and Haiti, to save lives and build long-term self-reliance. America must not turn its back on the world’s most vulnerable people. 

“What’s unfolding is not just a temporary setback; it’s a dismantling of the global aid system at a time when the world needs it most. The cost – in lives and global stability – is unfathomable and the impacts on will grow exponentially.” 

In more than 35 countries, Mercy Corps continues delivering life-saving assistance and partnering with local communities, organizations, and governments to co-create solutions that help people adapt, thrive, and build lasting resilience in the face of climate change, conflict, and poverty. With support from private donors and other funders, Mercy Corps is also completing some programs affected by U.S. aid cuts, including in Afghanistan, where private donors are enabling Mercy Corps to complete a vital infrastructure project, and in Nigeria, where alternative funding is now supporting the expansion of water, sanitation, and hygiene programs in conflict-affected communities.

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