Donald Trump's move to freeze USAID has experts sounding the alarm, with warnings that millions of the world's most vulnerable people could die as medical and other aid is cut.
The freeze threatens life-saving programs in 50 countries, including projects battling against AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and maternal deaths.
Here's what's happening, and how the cuts will be felt in some of the world's most disadvantaged regions.
What is USAID?
USAID is an arm of the US government that responds to humanitarian emergencies and disasters and promotes international development in 177 countries and 29 regions around the world.
The independent government agency was founded in 1961 by President John F Kennedy to counter Soviet influence during the Cold War, and it has been the world's largest single aid donor ever since.
USAID's main mission is to promote education, human rights, environmental sustainability, health initiatives and economic growth in countries affected by conflict and underdevelopment.
Ukraine, Israel, Ethiopia, Jordan, Egypt, Afghanistan, Somalia, Nigeria, Congo and Syria were the top 10 countries that received funding from USAID in 2023.
Some of that was military aid, which accounted for just over 11 per cent of USAID's budget in the 2023 US financial year, according to the Pew Research Center.
How will Trump's USAID freeze be felt around the world?
Experts have warned Trump's move to freeze USAID's funding, which is currently being challenged in the courts affects more than 50 countries, including 26 of the poorest nations in the world, including Afghanistan, Somalia, Ethiopia and Uganda.
Affected programs include polio prevention, treatment for people living with HIV/AIDS, and fighting infectious disease such as cholera, malaria and tuberculosis in Africa.
Trump's freeze has also disrupted USAID's global medical supply chain, as hundreds of millions of dollars of life-saving medical supplies are stranded in warehouses and on ships around the world, at risk of damage, expiry or even theft, according to a lawsuit filed by USAID contractors last week.
South Africa: Is AIDS on the rise?
South Africa has the world's largest population of people living with HIV, at more than 8 million.
A generation has passed since the world saw the peak of the AIDS epidemic, but the United Nations AIDS (UNAIDS) has warned the decision to halt US funding could result in millions more deaths from the disease.
The three-month freeze includes all work under the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which fights AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.
The program, which was founded in 2003, has saved more than 26 million lives worldwide by investing in HIV prevention and treatment in 55 countries, according to UNAIDS.
World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the freeze to PEPFAR had triggered an "immediate stop to HIV treatment, testing and prevention services" around the world.
HIV patients in Africa found locked doors at clinics.
UNAIDS executive director Winnie Byanyima fears the world could see more than 6 million AIDS-related deaths in the next five years, as well as millions more HIV infections.
"I need to sound the alarm so that it's very clear that this is a big part [of AIDS relief funding]. If it goes away, people are going to die," she said.
Nineteen-year-old South African Nozuko Majola, is one of millions of patients affected by Trump's freeze.
Majola is struggling to access her HIV medication, which is usually delivered to her home in Umzimkhulu, a rural village in the KwaZulu-Natal province.
In 2024, Majola's province recorded the second-highest number of HIV cases in the country, with at least 1,300 young people estimated to contract the disease every week.
Afghanistan: Cutting aid for pregnant women
Afghanistan has one of the highest death rates in the world for pregnant women, with a mother dying of preventable complications very two hours, says the United Nations Population Fund's (UNPFA) regional director Pio Smith.
"What happens when our work is not funded? Women give birth alone, in unsanitary conditions … Newborns die from preventable causes," he said.
"These are literally the world's most vulnerable people."
In three years, the absence of US support in Afghanistan "will result in 1,200 additional maternal deaths and 109,000 additional unintended pregnancies," he said.
The funding pause would cut off millions of Afghans from sexual and reproductive services, including family health houses, which provide midwives to mothers living in rural areas.
Afghan mother of five Bibi Gula, 29, is one of the many women who relied on USAID funding to deliver her baby safely.
"I was so weak and pale, and my blood pressure was low,” she said.
After complications with untrained birth attendants at home, she reached out to a family health house where she received medical treatment from a midwife.
Across the Asia-Pacific region, UNFPA says it receives about $US94 million in USAID funding.
Brazil: Is the Amazon in danger?
In Brazil, USAID funds near $US14 million in general environmental protection for the Amazon, including improving livelihoods for Indigenous peoples and other forest communities.
The Amazon-based Roraima Indigenous Council, which operates a region larger than Greece, is trying to tackle illegal mining and drug trafficking.
The council, which is apart of USAID's largest Amazon conservation project, uses funding to support local farmers, generate jobs for women, and help the region adapt to climate change.
Now everything is at risk, says Edinho Macuxi, the tuxaua (leader) of the council.
He said the decision to end funding after a seven-year partnership would shake the organisation.
"Our message to President Trump is that he should maintain the resources not only for Brazil but for other countries as well." he said.
"In Brazil, Indigenous peoples who access this funding are the ones who effectively keep most of the forest standing, ensuring life not just for people in Brazil, but also the world."
USAID was also a key player in managing the over-fishing of the pirarucu, also known as the arapaima, a freshwater fish that can grow to up to 200 kilograms.
AP/ABC
