The New York Times published on 6 June 2026 an article titled "As Ebola Spreads in East Africa, Will China Step Up?" by Lily Kuo and Stephanie Nolen.
The United States is playing a much smaller role in combatting Ebola in Africa than it has in previous outbreaks. China has made a modest contribution, but it is unclear how much Beijing is willing to do to help confront what could become the deadliest Ebola outbreak in history.
The International Crisis Group published on 17 April 2026 a statement titled "Latest Sudan Conference Shows Diplomacy Is Backsliding" by Comfort Ero and Alan Boswell.
Officials who gathered in Berlin on 15 April pledged 1.5 billion Euros for humanitarian aid to Sudan but failed to agree on a joint communique. Blame for the inability to agree on a common approach to achieve a cease fire resulted because of differences in the US-led Quad, which includes Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Egypt.
Negotiations foundered over Saudi Arabia's insistence on language stressing the need to preserve "state institutions", which would include Sudan's army, and the UAE's opposition to it. The intra-Quad discord highlights the challenges facing US-led efforts to secure a truce, which are backsliding amid deteriorating relations between Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Press TV posted on 23 February 2026 an article titled "Trump Admin Terminates 'Lifesaving' Aid Programs to Seven African Countries: Report."
The Atlantic magazine reported that the Trump administration has decided to end humanitarian aid programs in seven African countries because there is no strong connection between the humanitarian response and US national interests. The seven countries are Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Malawi, Mali, Niger, Somalia, and Zimbabwe.
Ethiopia Insight published on 20 February 2026 a commentary titled "Tigray Is Under Siege Again" by Kiros Nigus Thegay, a human rights advocate.
Siege-like conditions prevent Tigray Region from returning to normal. The author argues that the federal government is engaged in "weaponized starvation" and "economic sabotage."
The Associated Press published on 14 January 2026 an article titled "Discussions to End Sudan War Resume in Cairo as It Nears the 30Year Mark" by Fatma Khaled.
Egypt's foreign minister and the UN secretary general's personal envoy for Sudan resumed talks in Cairo on 14 January calling on the warring parties to agree to a nationwide humanitarian truce. Egypt made clear that it would not support any proposal for a divided Sudan.
The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace published on 10 December 2025 a report titled "The Painful, Seismic Shift in Humanitarian Aid -- And What's Next" by Allison Lombardo and Stewart Patrick.
For decades the United States was by far the world's largest humanitarian aid donor. In 2024, it provided 38 percent of total emergency assistance tracked by the United Nations. The dismantlement of the US Agency for International Development by the Trump administration changed all of this.
The Trump administration's proposed FY2026 budget cuts funding for humanitarian aid by 70 percent. It cut funding for the World Food Program by more than 90 percent and made huge cuts in funding for UNICEF and the International Organization for migration.
Africa is the biggest loser in these US cutbacks. The continent accounts for 10 of the 13 hardest hit countries.
Aljazeera published on 7 May 2025 an article titled "Port Sudan Explosions: Lifeline for Aid Comes under Attack for Fourth Day."
The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has launched drone attacks for the past 4 days on Port Sudan, the temporary capital for the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF). Most aid for Sudan goes through Port Sudan on the Red Sea. The SAF has accused the United Arab Emirates of arming the RSF.
The Council on Foreign Relations published on 14 April 2025 a commentary titled "A Third Year of War: Dried-Up Aid Pulls Sudan Further into Chaos" by Mariel Ferragamo.
People are dying more of hunger and disease in Sudan than bullets. The health care system is collapsing. The dismantlement of USAID was followed by the shutting down of 80 percent of the local emergency kitchens. Other donors have also cut back on aid to Sudan.
Ethiopia Insight published on 16 April 2025 a commentary titled "Ethiopia's Capital Problem" by Hambisa Belina, Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland.
The author argues that as the capital city of Addis Ababa rapidly develops, "much of the nation is suffering and decaying." The gap is growing between the wealthy few and the poor majority and the current trajectory is unsustainable.
The Washington Post published on 7 April 2025 an article titled "Marco Rubio Said He'd Protect Lifesaving Aid Overseas. DOGE Disagreed" by Annie Gowen.
USAID's new 28-year-old deputy administrator from the DOGE team has ordered the termination of key medical and emergency assistance work across Africa and the Middle East. His order seems to contradict Secretary of State Marco Rubio's promise to continue lifesaving USAID programs.
Canada's The Walrus published on 1 April 2025 an article titled "The Messy, Brutal, Unthinkable Collapse of USAID" by Maya Elhawary.
The article describes the systematic dismantlement of the US Agency for International Development and what it may portend for the future of global foreign assistance.
Foreign Policy published on 10 March 2025 an article titled "USAID Purge Ends with 83 Percent of Programs Canceled" by Christian Lu.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced 10 March on X that the Trump administration has terminated 83 percent of USAID programs. Rubio said this involved cancelation of 5,200 contracts that did not serve and in some cases even US national interests.
The Maritime Executive published on 5 March 2025 an article titled "Risks of Houthi Attacks on Shipping Increase."
On January 19, the Houthi leadership in Yemen suspended attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden so long as the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel held. A resumption of hostilities would likely result in new Houthi attacks on shipping.
The Palestine Chronicle posted on 8 March 2025 an article titled "Ansarallah Gives Israel 4 Days to Allow Gaza Aid or Face Red Sea Operations."
The Houthis announced on 7 March that they will resume attacks on "Israeli targets" within 4 days if Israel does not allow humanitarian aid into Gaza.
The Washington Post published on 6 March 2025 an article titled "Trump's Foreign Aid Demolition Hits Major Christian Charities" by John Hudson, Missy Ryan, and Katharine Houreld.
Albert Gombis, a political appointee in the State Department, met on 28 February with about 35 representatives of faith-based groups that included World Vision, Samaritan's Purse, Christian Aid, Food for the Hungary, Compassion International, National Association of Evangelicals, and Islamic Relief. They relayed the painful effects on their organizations stemming from Trump's cancellation of 90 percent of all USAID contracts, the termination of more than 1,600 personnel, and the placement of almost all of USAID's 10,000 strong workforce on administrative leave.
The article also reported that Trump's chief dismantler of USAID, Peter Marocco, met with lawmakers in a closed-door briefing where he said USAID was a "money-laundering scheme" that had lost its way. He added he was examining whether foreign assistance is even constitutional. When asked if he was among the rioters at the US Capitol on 6 January 2021, Marocco responded that is not the subject of the meeting.
WAMU, American University Radio, posted on 6 February 2025 a 40-minute podcast titled "Donald Trump and Elon Musk Are Targeting USAID."
Although the radio program aired a month ago and USAID is confronting a far more dire situation today, it is one of the few efforts that puts a human face on the dismantling of a proud and important aid organization.
The Portland Press Herald published on 24 February 2025 a commentary titled "Close Down USAID and We Are All a Lot Less Safe" by Pamela White.
Pamela White, former USAID mission director in Mali, Tanzania, and Liberia and former ambassador in The Gambia and Haiti summarizes what USAID actually does, not what Elon Musk inaccurately claims it is.
The October 2024 issue of the Foreign Service Journal has an article titled "South Sudan at 13: Reflections on Crisis, Aid, and the Road to Recovery" by Julius Kaut.
South Sudan remains in crisis and dependent on humanitarian aid. The civil war in Sudan has interrupted the flow of oil and elections scheduled for December may not take place. Yet, the author remains optimistic about South Sudan's future.
The Voice of America carried two and one-half minutes of my remarks on the international response to the situation in Sudan on 17 June 2024 titled "World Not Paying Attention to Sudan's War" with Chinedu Offor.
Sudan has received inadequate international attention primarily because of competition from crises in Ukraine and Gaza. At the same time, the United States and Europeans have been the primary source of humanitarian aid to Sudan.
The US Institute of Peace published on 18 April 2024 a commentary titled "Four Priorities for Sudan a Year into the Civil War" by Susan Stigant.
The author proposes four priorities for mitigating the impact of Sudan's civil war, which has completed its first year:
--Develop and execute a coherent strategy among the special envoys for Sudan from the United States, United Nations, and African Union.
--Prioritize the provision of humanitarian assistance.
--De-escalate conflict in those parts of Sudan at most risk of mass violence.
--Get back to basics in the next round of the Jeddah peace talks.
