USAID has issued a blanket stop-work order to all its implementing partners — one that states organizations must “take immediate action” to pause implementation of USAID-funded activities, and immediately acknowledge they’ve done so with their contracting officers at USAID.
The notice flips how stop-work orders have been handled since last Friday. Previously, contracting officers alerted implementing partners on a case-by-case basis if they needed to halt their work. Now, implementing partners are required to independently pause all USAID-funded activities and report back to the agency.
The notice came after USAID slashed hundreds of staff positions, from those at the senior executive level to institutional support contractors at the bureaus of global health and humanitarian assistance.
About the author
Elissa Miolene
Elissa Miolene reports on USAID and the U.S. government at Devex. She previously covered education at The San Jose Mercury News, and has written for outlets like The Wall Street Journal, San Francisco Chronicle, Washingtonian magazine, among others. Before shifting to journalism, Elissa led communications for humanitarian agencies in the United States, East Africa, and South Asia.
