Washington – Duniya ke sabse bade donor United States ne Friday ko almost sabhi foreign aid ko freeze kar diya, sirf emergency food aur Israel aur Egypt ke liye military funding ko chhoda.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio ne ek internal memo bheja, jo ki President Donald Trump ke office lene ke dinon baad aaya, jisme “America First” policy ke tahat overseas assistance ko tightly restrict karne ki baat ki gayi.
Memo mein likha tha, “Koi nayi funds new awards ya existing awards ke extensions ke liye nahi di jayengi jab tak har proposed new award ya extension review aur approve nahi ho jata,” ye memo AFP ne dekha tha.
Ye sweeping order sab kuch affect kar raha hai, development assistance se lekar military aid tak — including Ukraine, jisne Joe Biden ke tenure mein billions of dollars ka weapons mila tha jab woh Russian invasion ko repel karne ki koshish kar raha tha.
Is directive ka matlab hai ki kam se kam kuch mahine ke liye US funding PEPFAR ke liye pause ho jayegi, ye anti-HIV/AIDS initiative jo ki developing countries mein, largely Africa mein, anti-retroviral drugs kharidti hai.
2003 mein President George W. Bush ke tahat launch kiya gaya, PEPFAR ne kuch 26 million lives bachayi hain aur recently tak Washington mein broad popular support enjoy kiya tha, partisan lines ke across.
Lekin memo ne explicitly military assistance ko Israel ke liye exception banaya — jiska longstanding major arms packages United States se expand hua hai Gaza war ke baad — aur Egypt, jisne 1979 mein Israel ke saath peace treaty sign karne ke baad generous US defense funding receive kiya hai.
Rubio ne emergency food assistance ke liye US contributions ko bhi exception banaya, jo ki US crises ke baad Sudan aur Syria mein contribute kar raha hai.
Memo ne State Department ko dusre case-by-case exceptions banane aur temporarily staff aur administrative expenses fund karne ki ijazat di.
Memo ne sabhi foreign assistance ke liye 85 dinon ke andar ek internal review ki call ki.
Rubio — jo ki ek senator ke taur pe development assistance ka supporter tha — ne freeze ko justify karte hue likha ki ye new administration ke liye assess karna impossible hai ki existing foreign aid commitments “duplicate nahi hain, effective hain aur President Trump ki foreign policy ke saath consistent hain.”
- ‘Life or Death Consequences’ –
United States hamesha se dollar terms mein duniya ka top donor raha hai, halaanki Europe ke kuch nations, especially Scandinavia mein, apni economies ka significantly zyada percent donate karte hain.
United States ne 2023 mein, jiske liye records available hain, overseas development assistance mein $64 billion se zyada diya, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development ke according, jo ki industrialized countries ko advise karti hai.
Washington ne hamesha aid ko apni foreign policy ka tool banaya hai, keh kar ki woh development ke bare mein care karta hai aur China se ek contrast draw karta hai, jo ki primarily natural resources seek karne mein interested hai.
Trump ne office lene ke pehle din hi ek executive order sign kiya tha jo ki 90 dinon ke liye foreign assistance ko suspend karta hai, lekin ye nahi pata tha ki ye kaise implement hoga.
Anti-poverty group Oxfam ne kaha ki Trump ek longstanding consensus ko abandon kar raha hai United States mein foreign assistance ke liye.
“Humanitarian aur development assistance federal budget ka sirf around ek percent hoti hai; ye lives bachati hai, diseases se ladti hai, millions of children ko educate karti hai aur poverty kam karti hai,” Oxfam America ke president Abby Maxman ne ek statement mein kaha.
“Suspending aur ultimately in programs mein se bahut se cut karne se countless children aur families ke liye, jo ki crisis se guzar rahe hain, life or death consequences ho sakte hain,” unhone kaha.
World Relief, ek Christian-oriented humanitarian group, ne Trump administration se vital assistance ke flow ko ensure karne ki appeal ki, including disaster relief.
“Hum foreign development assistance ke review ko swiftly conduct karne aur investments ke continued prioritization ko ensure karne ki appeal karte hain jo ki lives bachati hain aur humanitarian crises ko mitigate karti hain,” group ke senior vice president of international programs,
