After US President Donald Trump took office on January 20 and announced that his government would impose a 90-day pause on the payment of foreign aid, pending a review of assistance programs, many countries, including Kenya, were among the hardest hit.
That review, Trump’s order explained, would ensure “consistency with United States foreign policy.”
According to him, the U.S. foreign aid industry and bureaucracy were not aligned with American interests and, in many cases, were antithetical to American values.
President Trump added that they served to destabilize world peace by promoting ideas in foreign countries that are directly contrary to harmonious and stable relations both internally and among nations.
“It is the policy of the United States that no further foreign assistance shall be disbursed in a manner that is not fully aligned with the foreign policy of the President of the United States,” read part of the statement from the White House.
Trump also moved to shutter USAID, accusing it of corruption and claiming it was run by “radical left lunatics” without offering proof of any wrongdoing.
In February of this year, at least 1,600 USAID workers were fired, and the majority of the remaining staff was placed on leave.
Later, in a memo distributed on Friday, March 28, 2025, to USAID employees, Jeremy Lewin, the agency’s new deputy director and a former official from the Department of Government Efficiency, stated that the State Department planned to take over many of USAID’s functions and its ongoing programs.
Study Shows Ukraine Tops 20 Countries Hardest Hit by Trump Funding Cuts
A recent study by Slot.Day analyzed over 20 countries that receive the most financial aid from the U.S. to identify those most affected by the foreign aid cuts proposed by the Trump administration.
The study used funding information provided by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to analyze allocated foreign aid between 2023 and 2025, as well as the sectors that required the most spending in 2025.
According to the report, Ukraine leads the list of the countries most affected by the U.S. foreign aid cuts, with $39.1B (Ksh 5,053,489,410,000) spent between 2023-2025.
In 2025 there was $4.5B (Ksh 581,602,950,000) allocated to help the country, with almost $ 4 billion spent on government and civil society help.
Jordan ranks second among the countries most affected by U.S. Foreign Aid cuts, with $4.4B (Ksh 568.68B) spent over eight times less than for Ukraine.
The Country received $1.8 B (Ksh232,641,180,000) U.S. foreign aid in 2024 with most of the $930M (Ksh 119.81B) allocated this year was spent on government aid.
Meanwhile, Ethiopia holds third place, with $2.8B (≈Ksh 361.89B) in Foreign Aid from the U.S. in recent years. In 2025, the U.S. spent only $190M (Ksh 24.56B), with most of it going toward emergency response, which would be severely affected by the cuts.
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) follows closely in fourth place with $2.3B (Ksh 297.16B) spent on Foreign Aid.
The most supported sector is HIV/AIDS, for which $15.8M (Ksh 2.04B) was allocated in 2025.
Kenya Ranked Position 7 Globally and 5th in Africa
Somalia is fifth on the list, with an overall budget of $1.8B (Ksh 232.64B) spent between 2023 and 2025.
The financial aid for Somalia decreased in 2024, and for this year currently stands at $140M (Ksh 18.09B), with most of it spent on emergency response.
Nigeria holds sixth place, with a similar $1.8B (Ksh 232.64B) in Foreign Aid. In 2025, HIV/AIDS help is the most financed sector, with financial aid amounting to $26.7M (Ksh 3.45B).
Kenya ranks seventh, with financial aid totaling $1.7B (Ksh 219.72B) in the past three years.
Most of the financing in Kenya goes to HIV/AIDS medical help, but the amount is almost 2.5 times higher here, at $66M (Ksh 8.53B) spent in 2025 so far.
In eighth position is Afghanistan, which received $1.6B (Ksh 206.79B) in U.S. Foreign Aid. It is the only country in the top 10 where the funding was mainly allocated to Maternal and Child Health and Family Planning, with $2.4M (Ksh 310.19M) spent in 2025.
Sudan comes in ninth, gathering $1.6B (Ksh 206.79B) in U.S. Foreign Aid between 2023 and 2025. In 2025, over $250M (Ksh 32.31B) was allocated to Sudan, mostly for emergency response.
Yemen closes the ranking of the top ten countries most affected by the U.S. Foreign Aid cuts, in tenth place with $1.5B (Ksh 193.87B).
In 2024, the US spent over $760M (Ksh 98.23B) on Yemen, but in 2025 only $36M (Ksh 4.65B) has been allocated so far, with emergency response as the main funding priority.
How The Countries Were Allocated Foreign Aid for Past 3 Years according to slot.day
| Country | Population | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 3-Year Total | Top Sector 2025 | Top Sector Spending |
| Ukraine | 37.7M | $21B | $16.2B | $24B | $61.2B | Government and civil society | $19.5B |
| Jordan | 11.2M | $1.5B | $2B | $0.9B | $4.4B | Government and civil society | $381M |
| Ethiopia | 120.3M | $1.2B | $1.4B | $0.2B | $2.8B | Emergency response | $190M |
| Democratic Republic of Congo | 99.0M | $0.9B | $1B | $0.4B | $2.3B | HIV/AIDS | $15.8M |
| Somalia | 17.1M | $0.8B | $0.9B | $0.1B | $1.8B | Emergency response | $140M |
| Nigeria | 211.4M | $0.6B | $0.9B | $0.3B | $1.8B | HIV/AIDS | $26.7M |
| Kenya | 53.7M | $0.6B | $0.9B | $0.2B | $1.7B | HIV/AIDS | $66M |
| Afghanistan | 39.8M | $0.7B | $0.6B | $0.3B | $1.6B | Maternal and Child Health, Family Planning | $2.4M |
| Sudan | 44.9M | $0.6B | $0.7B | $0.3B | $1.6B | Emergency response | $250M |
| Yemen | 30.0M | $0.5B | $0.76B | $0.24B | $1.5B | Emergency response | $36M |
| South Sudan | 11.2M | $0.3B | $0.4B | $0.2B | $0.9B | Emergency response | $121M |
| Mozambique | 31.3M | $0.28B | $0.35B | $0.2B | $0.83B | HIV/AIDS | $65M |
| Colombia | 50.8M | $0.25B | $0.25B | $0.3B | $0.8B | Government and civil society | $58.9M |
| Syria | 17.5M | $0.4B | $0.3B | $0.05B | $0.75B | Emergency response | $48M |
| West Bank and Gaza | 5.2M | $0.2B | $0.3B | $0.2B | $0.7B | Government and civil society | $57.5M |
| Uganda | 45.7M | $0.2B | $0.25B | $0.15B | $0.6B | HIV/AIDS | $32.5M |
| Malawi | 19.1M | $0.18B | $0.22B | $0.15B | $0.55B | Agriculture | $25.1M |
| Bangladesh | 164.7M | $0.2B | $0.2B | $0.1B | $0.5B | General environmental protection | $22M |
| Mexico | 128.9M | $0.2B | $0.15B | $0.12B | $0.47B | Basic health | $28.5M |
| India | 1393.4M | $0.15B | $0.18B | $0.1B | $0.43B | Maternal and Child Health, Family Planning | $12.7M |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 3.3M | $0.14B | $0.13B | $0.03B | $0.3B | Operating expenses | $994.9K |
A spokesperson from Slot.Day said the cuts to US foreign aid will create significant gaps in global humanitarian efforts, particularly affecting vulnerable populations in developing nations.
“Countries that have historically relied on American support for healthcare infrastructure will see disruptions to critical programs, including HIV/AIDS treatment and emergency response capabilities in disaster-prone regions,” the Spokesperson said.
“These reductions may ultimately lead to increased regional instability while diminishing America’s diplomatic influence globally.”
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