LUSA 07/04/2025

Lusa - Business News - Mozambique: At least 2,500 jobs lost with end of USAID - minister

Maputo, July 3, 2025 (Lusa) - At least 2,500 jobs have been lost in Mozambique with the cut in US foreign aid through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Mozambican government said on Thursday, admitting that this is "a problem" for the economy.

"The last meeting I had with the group that was created from the organisations that work and benefited from the funding, they spoke of around 2,500 jobs, but that was the information I was given, which I still have today, and I believe that is more or less the case," said the Minister of Labour, Gender and Social Action, Ivete Alane, on the sidelines of the Second Conference on Social Services, taking place in Maputo, while stressing that there is no "official estimate."

At the end of January, US President Donald Trump ordered a freeze on foreign aid from his country, channelled mainly through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which supports various programmes in this area, including in Mozambique.

USAID was created in 1961 by then President John F. Kennedy to channel foreign aid for development and humanitarian assistance.

The agency has also been criticised throughout its history for using aid as a tool for political influence and favouring Washington's strategic interests over local needs.

The massive cut in aid to the African continent is worrying the Mozambican government, which concedes that jobs will be lost in various sectors.

"We are always aware of the work, there are jobs that are lost, and jobs are lost, this is a problem when it is our expectation that the economy will flourish so that we can produce more jobs," said Mozambique's Minister of Labour.

In January, the Trump administration began dismantling USAID, which had an annual budget of $42.8 billion (about €39.3 billion) and alone accounted for 42% of humanitarian aid worldwide.

Mozambique was the member of the Community of Portuguese-Language Countries (CPLP) that received the most aid from USAID in 2023, totalling $664.122 million (€639.70 million), according to data released by Lusa on 4 February.

Within the CPLP, Angola followed Mozambique on the list of largest recipients of USAID aid in fiscal year 2023, with $71.320 million (68.7 million euros), joined by in descending order, Brazil with US$68.985 million (€66.45 million) and Timor-Leste with US$43.688 million (€42.08 million), according to data released by Lusa on that date.

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