A new study has linked the abrupt dismantling of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under U.S. President Donald Trump to a rise in violence across some of Africa’s most fragile regions.
The study, published on Thursday in the journal Science, found that areas that had historically depended heavily on USAID support recorded a significant and sustained increase in conflict after the agency’s operations were abruptly halted.
The researchers, drawn from universities in Europe and the United States, stopped short of saying the aid cuts directly caused the violence.
However, they warned that sudden disruptions to large-scale humanitarian and development assistance could destabilise already fragile communities.
“The abrupt withdrawal of USAID led to a significant and sustained increase in conflict across Africa’s most USAID-dependent regions,” the study said.
