--- title: "Trump's order will stop aid group feeding malnourished children in Ethiopia, sources say" description: "LONDON, Jan 28 (Reuters) - The Trump administration's freeze on U.S. foreign aid globally has included a stop-work order to a program run by aid group Action Against Hunger helping severely malnourished children in refugee camps in Ethiopia, two sources said on Tuesday." type: "NewsArticle" publisher: "Daily Maverick" site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za" section: "Newsdeck" author: "Reuters" author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/reuters/" canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-01-28-trumps-order-will-stop-aid-group-feeding-malnourished-children-in-ethiopia-sources-say/" published: "2025-01-28T21:19:33" updated: "2025-01-29T11:18:42" lang: "en-ZA" word_count: 485 --- # Trump's order will stop aid group feeding malnourished children in Ethiopia, sources say > LONDON, Jan 28 (Reuters) - The Trump administration's freeze on U.S. foreign aid globally has included a stop-work order to a program run by aid group Action Against Hunger helping severely malnourished children in refugee camps in Ethiopia, two sources said on Tuesday. By Reuters · Published 28 January 2025, 23:19 SAST · Updated 29 January 2025, 13:18 SAST ## Key points - In a stunning move that leaves malnourished children in Ethiopia hanging by a thread, the State Department has ordered aid group ACF to halt its life-saving food programs, all while waving a vague emergency exemption banner that seems to apply only to the fine print of U.S. foreign policy. - ACF ordered by the State Department to cease food aid programs in Ethiopia, impacting malnourished children. - The aid group previously treated around 3,000 children for severe acute malnutrition last year. - Trump's administration claims emergency food assistance is exempt from the aid freeze, but confusion remains. - The halt in U.S. funding threatens vital life-saving aid, as ACF prepares to shut down feeding centers. ## Content - Aid group ACF told by State Department to halt food aid in Ethiopia - ACF program treats children with severe acute malnutrition - Trump administration has said emergency food was exempt from aid freeze By Maggie Fick A memo on Saturday made it clear to U.S. Agency for International Development staff that the [pause](https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL2N3OO00D&linkedFromStory=true) on foreign aid spending meant "a complete halt." The only exceptions are for emergency humanitarian food assistance and for officials returning to their duty stations. But on Friday, the State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration sent a memo to the aid group ACF ordering it to stop work immediately on a number of programmes funded by its grants, including the group's "therapeutic feeding centres" for malnourished children under the age of five and their mothers in camps in the Gambella region, the sources familiar with the matter said. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media. A spokesperson for the aid group declined to comment. **Read more in Daily Maverick:**[‘I’m breaching my Hippocratic oath’ – Trump’s foreign aid freeze halts key HIV programmes](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-01-28-im-breaching-my-hippocratic-oath-trumps-foreign-aid-freeze-halts-key-hiv-programmes/) The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A department spokesperson said on Sunday that the review of all foreign assistance programs is needed "to ensure they are efficient and consistent with U.S. foreign policy under the America First agenda." Last year, the aid group treated around 3,000 children suffering from severe acute malnutrition, the sources said. In total, the aid group oversees nutrition assistance to 400,000 people living in these camps, which are on Ethiopia's border with South Sudan. As a result of the order they received from the State Department on Friday, the aid group is preparing to shut down the feeding centres by the end of this week, the sources said. Unlike United Nations agencies that work on emergency food aid, such as the World Food Programme or the U.N. children's agency UNICEF, aid groups including ACF often use specific funding streams for single projects, such as the nutrition support in the Gambella camps. The aid groups cannot take the financial risk of covering salaries or other expenditures given the immediate halt in financial support from their biggest donor. Hours after taking office on Jan. 20, President [Donald Trump](https://www.reuters.com/topic/person/donald-trump/) ordered a 90-day [pause](https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AFWN3OG0FD&linkedFromStory=true) in foreign aid to review if it was aligned with his foreign policy priorities. Then on Friday, the State Department issued a [stop-work order](https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL2N3OK0VU&linkedFromStory=true) worldwide even for existing assistance, threatening billions of dollars of life-saving aid from the world's largest single donor. But several aid workers have told Reuters that it is unclear what U.S.-funded assistance is covered by the emergency food aid exemption. Trump's freeze on US aid rings alarm bells from Thailand to Ukraine [Read full story](https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL2N3OO0TY&linkedFromStory=true) (Reporting by Maggie Fick in London; Additional reporting by Humeyra Pamuk in WashingtonEditing by Josephine Mason and Matthew Lewis)