The impact of the billionaire’s declaration has been swift and brutal, with food and crucial drugs abandoned in warehouses, vital programmes closed and workers laid off

Chaotic scenes were seen in scores of countries as aid organisations warned of the risk of escalating disease and famine along with disastrous repercussions in areas such as family planning and girls’ education, after President Donald Trump’s decision to freeze funding to USAid. In 2023, the agency managed more than $40bn (£32bn).