Trump's funding cuts halt water projects and increase risks for millions

According to new research, the Trump administration's decision of cutting nearly all U.S. aid to foreign countries has left dozens water and sanitation projects in the middle of completion around the world, creating hazards for those they were intended to help.

After speaking with 17 sources who are familiar with infrastructure plans, we have identified 21 unfinished construction projects in 16 different countries. The majority of these projects were not reported before. Workers have abandoned their shovels, left half-dug holes, and unguarded building materials after hundreds of millions in funding were cancelled since January. This is according to internal documents and interviews with U.S. officials.

The United States has left millions of people to their own devices, despite having promised them clean drinking water and reliable sanitation. According to two anonymous U.S. officials, water towers that were intended to serve Mali's schools and clinics have been abandoned. Construction on more than a hundred drinking water systems in Nepal was stopped, and plumbing supplies, 6,500 bags cement, were left behind. According to Pradeep Yadav, the water minister of the Himalayan country, the nation will finish the project with its own money. The project in Lebanon to supply cheap solar energy to water utilities has been scrapped. This resulted in the loss of 70 jobs and stopped plans to improve services for the region. Suzy Hoayek is an advisor to Lebanon's Energy Ministry. She said that utilities now depend on diesel to power their systems. Residents of Taita Taveta County in Kenya say that they are more susceptible to flooding now than before because half-finished irrigation channels could collapse, sweeping away crops. Community leaders estimate that it will cost $2,000 for the community to reduce the flood risk. This is twice the average income of the area.

Mary Kibachia (74), a farmer, said: "I am not protected from the flooding caused by the canal. The floods are only going to get worse."

SUPPORT BIPARTISAN

Trump's demise of the U.S. Agency for International Development left food and medical aid that could save lives rotting and in warehouses. It has also thrown humanitarian efforts all over the world into chaos. According to a study published in The Lancet, the cuts could cause 14 million additional deaths by 2030. Trump's administration and its supporters say that money should be spent on Americans in the United States rather than sent abroad. They also claim USAID has strayed away from its original purpose by funding LGBT rights projects in Serbia.

The U.S. Water Projects, with an annual budget $450 million dollars, accounted for only a fraction of the $61 Billion in foreign aid that the United States distributed last year.

Washington's water projects were not controversial before Trump was re-elected in November. Both chambers of Congress passed a 2014 law that doubled the funding.

According to advocates, the United States improved the lives tens of thousands of people over the years by building toilets, irrigation canals, and other water and sanitation project. John Oldfield is a consultant for water infrastructure and a lobbyist. He said that by building water infrastructure, the United States has improved the lives of tens of millions over time.

Do we want girls to carry water for their families on their heads? "Or do you want girls carrying schoolbooks?" he asked.

The U.S. State Department has not responded to a question about the impact on the water projects of the halting. The agency has restored funding for some life-saving project, but Secretary Marco Rubio said that American assistance would be limited in the future. At least one project has been restarted. After King Abdullah's diplomatic push, funding for a $6 Billion desalination facility in Jordan has been restored.

Those familiar with the programs, who spoke under condition of anonymity, said that funding for other countries, including Ethiopia, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of the Congo has not been resumed.

Women in these areas will walk hours to get unsafe water. Children will also be at risk of disease, and the health facilities in these areas will close. This is according to Tjada McKenna CEO of Mercy Corps. The nonprofit worked with USAID to implement water projects that benefited 1.7 million people in Congo, Nigeria, and Afghanistan.

She said: "This isn’t just about the loss of assistance -- it’s about the unraveling progress, stability and human dignity."

The Perils of Fetching Water

Former USAID water kiosks are now used as playgrounds for children in eastern Congo where the fighting between Congolese troops and M23 rebels have claimed thousands of victims.

Evelyne Mbaswa told how her son, 16, went to fetch some water in June but never returned home. This is a common experience for families living in the violent region.

The mother of nine stated, "When we send girls to school, they're raped and young boys are abducted . All of this is due to the lack of drinking water."

A spokesperson for Congo's government declined to comment on requests. USAID in Kenya was amidst a $100 million, five-year project to provide drinking and irrigation water for 150,000 people, when, according to documents viewed by, contractors and staff were told to stop working in January. DAI Global LLC's memo dated May 15, 2015, states that only 15% of the project was completed.

According to correspondence, $100,000 worth of pipe, fencing, and other materials were left exposed on construction sites where they could be damaged or stolen. USAID signage on those sites clearly shows who is responsible, according to several memos.

According to a draft of a memo sent by the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi to State Department, this could harm the United States’ reputation and give a boost for extremist groups looking to recruit new members in the region.

Al Shabaab, a Somalia-based group with ties to al Qaeda, has been responsible in Kenya for a series of high-profile assaults. One such attack in 2015 on a Kenyan university killed at least 147.

The memo stated that "the reputational risk of failing to complete these projects could become a security threat."

DAMAGING FLOODS

Community leaders in Kenya's Taita Taveta county, which is a rural area that has experienced cyclical flooding and drought, said workers were only able to construct brick walls for 220 meters of a 3.1 kilometre irrigation canal (1.9 miles) before they were told to stop. These walls are not plastered and therefore vulnerable to erosion.

Juma Kubo is a leader in the community. She said that without plaster, walls would collapse during heavy rains, and water flow will destroy farms.

The community asked for the Kenyan Government and international donors' help to finish the project, with a projected cost $526,000.

Kubo stated that they will sell the steel cables and cement left at the site to raise funds to backfill and plaster the canal.

Stephen Kiteto Mwagoti is an irrigation officer for the county. He said that the county needs "funds so we can finish the project as much as we can, with the materials available, if we cannot complete it completely."

Kenyan authorities did not reply to our request for comment. Kibachia has been living with flooding for many years and needs help now.

After three months of work on the project was completed, her mud-hut was inundated with water up to her knees.

It was bad this time. She said that she had to use dirt to repair the damage done by the floods.

Where can I go?" "This is home."

(source: Reuters)