‘Immediate relief’ for USAID programs not expected despite court order

A U.S. federal judge ordered the Trump administration on Thursday to reverse its foreign aid funding freeze on the U.S. Agency for International Development’s global programming. But given the chaos that has defined the global halt to programming — accompanied by a trickle of opaque guidance from the administration — there are expectations that restarting programming could be far from straightforward.

Under the U.S. State Department’s stop-work order, there have been some waivers for lifesaving activities — such as HIV treatment services under the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR. But the power of this court order is that it supersedes these “failed” and “disturbingly restrictive” waivers, and speaks directly to implementers to tell them they can restart work, said Asia Russell, executive director of Health GAP.

But because of the “chaos” the stop-work order caused, rebuilding trust, mechanisms and programs is going to be “extremely challenging,” Russell said.