HEALTH partnerships with the US Agency for International Development (Usaid) are on hold and it remains unclear whether they will be permanently suspended, the country’s health minister said.
US President Donald Trump’s administration is considering merging Usaid, Washington’s primary humanitarian agency, into the State Department in a major revamp that would shrink its workforce and align its spending with his “America First” policy.
A US freeze on foreign aid for Indonesia could strain theSouth-East Asian country’s efforts to fight against HIV and tuberculosis (TB), which replaced Covid-19 to become the top cause of infectious disease-related deaths globally in 2023.
“That is on hold. Not stopped,” said Indonesia’s health minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin, referring to its projects with Usaid.
“We don’t know if it’s confirmed to be erased or still under assessment,” he said, adding that he may have more clarity in the next 90 days.
Usaid has invested US$800mil in Indonesia since 2020, the US embassy in Jakarta said in November.
Indonesia’s projects with the US agency have involved HIV and tuberculosis. More so than Usaid, Budi said, Indonesia also receives drugs from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, which counts Washington as its biggest donor
The US embassy in Jakarta and Usaid did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Indonesia has seen TB cases spike in the past few years, with the health ministry estimating more than one million cases in 2023, versus around 820,000 in 2020.
Olivia Herlinda, health analyst at non-profit group Center for Indonesia’s Strategic Development Initiatives, said the Usaid pause would have a big impact on Indonesia.
“The impact is huge because Usaid supports many health issues in Indonesia, including maternal and child health, TB, HIV and pandemic preparedness,” she said. — Reuters
