Senior USAID officials put on leave
The Trump administration has ordered approximately 60 senior executive and Foreign Service employees of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to go on administrative leave effective immediately. According to Politico, the cuts have left many offices within the agency without senior non-political leadership, including the Bureau for Global Health, whose entire cadre of leaders has been put on leave. USAID has long been a key player in promoting sexual and reproductive health worldwide, providing vital resources for family planning, maternal health, and HIV/AIDS prevention, especially in low-income countries. This internal upheaval has significantly compromised the agency’s capacity to implement critical international programs and, paired with the broader freeze on foreign aid, is putting the health and rights of people around the world at risk.