Was Alight impacted by the Executive Order announced on January 24, 2025, freezing existing foreign aid programs?
Yes, Alight received significant funding from the U.S. foreign aid budget for five of our country enterprise programs: Myanmar, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda. The stop work order and notice of suspensions announced on January 24, 2025, required Alight to immediately stop work on critical programs.
What does the termination of 10,000 foreign aid contracts announced on February 26th mean for humanitarian aid organizations?
On February 26, 2025, the Trump administration terminated more than 90% of USAID contracts (5,800) and 60% of State Department contracts (4,100) which means $61 billion of U.S. foreign assistance has disappeared overnight.
While there was always a possibility that contracts and grants could be terminated at the end of the 90-day suspension period, the scope and speed of these terminations will lead to a global tragedy.
Many humanitarian organizations had to dramatically reduce their staff and programs because of the stop work orders and notice of suspensions received on January 24th but the latest termination letters put many more lives at risk. Foreign aid is critical for America’s economy, security and reputation so we hope the administration will reverse the terminations for lifesaving services and resume a careful and fair review.
But has Alight been forced to leave any of the places it works?
We haven’t yet had to leave any of the countries where we work, but we have had to close critical programs such as protection services for women and children fleeing violence and lifesaving health programs for malaria in Myanmar. So far, it’s funding from the U.S. foreign aid budget that has been lost, not our permission or ability to work in any of the countries or places we do.
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