Mahama Directs Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson To Address Funding Gap Created By USAID Departure
- President John Mahama has directed the Finance Minister to bridge the funding gaps created by the suspension of USAID's international funding
- A statement from the presidency noted the funding gap to be estimated at $156 million
- The president is concerned with the projected $78.2 million shortfall that will adversely impact such critical health interventions
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President John Mahama has directed Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson to bridge the funding gaps created by the suspension of USAID's international funding programme.
The presidency noted the funding gap to be estimated at $156 million.
Source: Facebook
A statement noted that the president is concerned with the projected $78.2 million shortfall that will adversely impact such critical interventions as malaria prevention, maternal and child health, family planning, reproductive health, nutrition and the fight against HIV/AIDS under which the availability of antiretroviral medicine, testing, and prevention programs are threatened.
Mahama has requested that the bridging arrangements focus on these priority areas to mitigate any deleterious effects occasioned by the USAID funding disruptions.
USAID's work in Ghana has spanned increasing agricultural production, employment opportunities, and income for the poor, improving the quality of health services and education, and strengthening local government institutions.
Dr. Mavis Owureku-Asare, a researcher and food scientist who has benefited from USAID funding in the past, described this development as a big blow.
She stressed the importance of the government quickly assessing the scale of the impact of USAID's withdrawal.
This should be followed by the government doing its bit to close the funding gap, Owureku-Asare added.
“Anything little helps. Nobody can fill the space [left by USAID]. They need a plan in place or else there will be a severe impact.”
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) was set up in the early 1960s to administer humanitarian aid programmes on behalf of the US government.
It employs around 10,000 people, most of who work overseas.
USAID is based in more than 60 countries, though work on the ground is carried out by other organisations that are contracted and funded by USAID.
Much of USAID's budget is spent on health programmes, such as offering polio vaccinations in vulnerable countries.
According to US government data, the US spent $68bn on international aid in 2023.
Why does Trump want to overhaul USAID?
Trump has said overseas spending is not a valuable use of taxpayer money and singled out USAID for criticism.
The White House has published a list of USAID projects which it said were evidence of waste, including $2.5m for electric vehicles in Vietnam and $6m for tourism in Egypt.
Source: UGC
After returning to office, Trump signed an executive order that put almost all international spending on pause for a 90-day review.
The US president has been working with billionaire Elon Musk to shrink the US federal government and ensure efficiency.
Lawyer lists five groups targeted for deportation
YEN.com.gh reported that Akua Poku, a Ghanaian-born immigration lawyer based in the US, shared an update to migrants in the wake of raids being carried out by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
She explained that the first group of people targeted by ICE are undocumented migrants who have a criminal record.
Moving on to the second group, she explained that ICE was also on the lookout for people with final removal orders or final deportation orders.
Poku continued that the third group of people are termed collateral arrests, the fourth group are workers who use other people's identity documents to work or work without authorisation, and the last group of people being targeted are those who entered the country unlawfully.
Proofread by Samuel Gitonga, Copy Editor at YEN.com.gh
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Source: YEN.com.gh
