State Department says majority of USAID programs with WFP remain active after weekend cuts

A State Department spokesperson said Tuesday that roughly 85% of previously existing USAID programs with the World Food Programme (WFP) remain active after an internal review that led to a limited number of contract terminations.

The spokesperson, Tammy (State Department spokesperson), told reporters that while some WFP awards were ended, the majority continue and that several terminated awards were concentrated in Yemen and Afghanistan. She said the administration concluded some terminations were necessary because of concerns that aid was being diverted to armed groups, and that some awards providing cash-based assistance were cut because of accountability concerns for U.S. taxpayer funds.

Tammy said the “largest group of World Food Programme awards terminated were in Yemen and Afghanistan through an executive order that was issued based on concern that the funding was benefiting terrorist groups, including the Houthis and the Taliban.” She added that the United States had paused food assistance in northern Yemen through WFP to mitigate Houthi interference, and that assistance to Afghanistan had been intermittently suspended to limit Taliban interference.

The spokesperson also acknowledged the review led to a few program cuts that were not intended and said some of those have been “rolled back and put into place.” She did not provide a full country-by-country list at the briefing but said she would seek more detail and return it to reporters.

Tammy described the review as part of a broader effort to ensure aid reaches intended beneficiaries and to strengthen ongoing oversight: “This process of auditing and knowing where your money is being spent… has to be a regular process.” Reporters at the briefing asked who signed off on the contract terminations and how the decisions were made; Tammy said she would seek a fuller account from the relevant bureaus now that the review has ended.

Clarifying details discussed at the briefing included the spokesperson’s statement that 85% of USAID programs with WFP remain active; that the largest group of terminated awards were in Yemen and Afghanistan; and that an executive order motivated some terminations. She also referenced a SIGAR-related figure of at least $11,000,000 siphoned in relation to Afghanistan, noting that concerns about misuse have been documented previously.

The spokesperson declined to provide detailed statistics or the full list of affected countries during the briefing, saying those numbers and program-level rationales are dynamic and that she would follow up.