Asia Impact: USAID Stops. China Grows.

Analysis of the impact of the USAID terminations in Asia from a SCAAN contributor....

The abrupt suspension of U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) programs on January 20, 2025 has been felt across Asia. Media outlets report widespread disruptions: health clinics without funds for medicine, civil society organizations furloughing staff, and education and anti-corruption programs suddenly in limbo. The freeze is a major setback for development and human rights, with warnings of profound human consequences. Local language press and regional commentators have detailed the toll on vulnerable communities and the uncertainty facing thousands of NGO workers.

At the same time, some voices – especially those aligned with nationalist or authoritarian government factions – have welcomed the end of U.S. “interference,” even as officials quietly worry about finding replacement resources. A unifying theme in coverage is the fear that gains made in governance, transparency, and civil society over decades may unravel.

Myanmar

In Myanmar – a country where democracy was brutally overturned by a coup in 2021 – the cutoff of U.S. aid is being felt most tragically among refugees and displaced people. Local and regional outlets covering Myanmar (often in exile, given media repression inside the country) describe the aid freeze as a cruel blow timed at the worst possible moment. Amid this conflict, the U.S. has been a key humanitarian donor, funding relief for refugees who fled to Thailand and other countries as well as support for civil society groups working underground for human rights.

DVB (Democratic Voice of Burma) and The Irrawaddy, two prominent Burmese news outlets, ran stories on the immediate shutdown of clinics in the Thai-Myanmar border camps[6]. On January 25, camp officials in Thailand’s Tak Province announced that all medical services funded by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) with U.S. support would be suspended the next day, with over 100,000 Myanmar refugees now suddenly without access to healthcare​. Local Thai media captured the scene: patients, including those on oxygen support and pregnant women in labor, were being discharged and told they could no longer be treated at the camp clinics[7]. A waiver was later issued by Washington to exempt some life-saving humanitarian aid​ but local aid workers told media that the damage had been done: the sudden stop-work orders sowed chaos, and it’s unclear which programs will qualify as “life-saving” and resume. For instance, HIV/AIDS treatment initiatives in Myanmar depended on U.S. assistance; those running these programs told RFA they fear the funding may not resume at all​. This raises alarm because Myanmar has tens of thousands of HIV patients who rely on donor-funded clinics for antiretroviral drugs.

Pro-democracy voices lament that the freeze undercuts what few lifelines remained for Myanmar’s civil society. An elected lawmaker now in hiding was quoted (anonymously for safety) in a Yangon media blog: “The U.S. was keeping our civil movement alive with small grants and training – now we are on our own.” Indeed, the USAID mission had quietly supported local media like Kamayut and ethnic rights documentation efforts. All are now on pause. The timing, coming just as Myanmar’s resistance movement hoped for increased international support in 2025, left many activists despairing. On the Burmese-language news site Khit Thit, an opinion piece asked whether this signaled that “America has abandoned Myanmar’s democracy struggle.” It implored other countries to step up support, warning that otherwise the military junta would be the unintended beneficiary of the U.S. retreat. The junta, for its part, has welcomed the aid halt with barely concealed glee – state-controlled newspapers in Naypyidaw even spun it as “proof that Western aid only brings instability.” That propaganda rings hollow to those on the ground: as independent outlets note, the instability and suffering have only worsened due to the loss of aid.

Cambodia

In Cambodia, where civil society was already under pressure from an autocratic government, the loss of USAID funding has been portrayed in local media as a dire double blow – to livelihoods and to what remains of democratic space. Independent Cambodian outlets (those that still operate despite crackdowns) have provided coverage of NGO workers suddenly facing unemployment. CamboJA News, run by a journalists’ association, reported on “key projects grinding to a halt” and government officials scrambling for solutions​[1]. One Khmer-language article quoted an NGO employee claiming that “over a thousand of our workers are now without jobs”, highlighting the scale of layoffs across organizations in health, agriculture, and governance sectors. A Newsweek article (circulated in Khmer translation on social media) also pointed out that the U.S. freeze would “open the way for China to expand its influence”, and that appears to be happening, with one Cambodian op-ed noting that “Beijing builds roads and funds the army, but doesn’t fund voter education or independent journalists.[2]”

Perhaps the most dramatic impact in Cambodia is on demining operations. Cambodia is littered with landmines from past conflicts, and U.S. assistance has been crucial for demining teams. Radio Free Asia’s Khmer service broke the story that the Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC) had to furlough hundreds of staff due to the U.S. funding freeze[3]. “It is a complete shutdown…a forced shutdown,” Heng Ratana told RFA, explaining that roughly 20% of his workforce must stand down without the roughly $2 million annually that the U.S. normally provides​. Cambodian television showed images of demining teams packing up equipment in the field, uncertain when – or if – they could resume clearing the mines that still maim farmers. Government spokespeople, while publicly trying to project calm, admitted they are urgently seeking “new funding partners” to keep critical initiatives alive​. But NGOs are skeptical. “We haven’t been able to find help elsewhere yet,” one Cambodian NGO leader said, noting that the U.S. had supported many programs continuously for decades​[4].

The freeze is hitting Cambodia’s struggling independent media and human rights groups especially hard. CamboJA, the journalists’ alliance, disclosed that 20–30% of its funding came from USAID – money used to train reporters and even to launch its own news site. “The loss of funding means we can’t produce important stories that benefit society,” said Samrith Tona, who heads a media NGO focusing on elevating women journalists1. As Tona warned, when media coverage dries up, injustices in communities (from illegal logging to local corruption) are more likely to go unchecked​. Another major civil society pillar, the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC), relies on USAID for the majority of its budget. Its president, Ny Sokha, told reporters that over 70% of ADHOC’s activities were U.S.-funded – all now suspended or scaled down. Sokha’s plea, carried in multiple Khmer outlets, was direct: “We urge the U.S. to continue funding civil society organizations so that we can help restore human rights and democracy” in Cambodia.

Laos

Laos, one of Asia’s poorest countries, has a lower media profile, but local and regional coverage indicates the U.S. aid halt is quietly devastating programs there as well. The Lao language state media has been relatively muted – unsurprisingly, given the one-party government’s tight control. However, Radio Free Asia’s Lao service and NGO contacts on the ground have shed light on impacts in communities. One immediate effect publicized was the suspension of a U.S.-funded school meals program in northern Laos​, where Malnutrition is a serious. A teacher in impoverished Houaphan province told RFA that with U.S. support withdrawn, they “had to scale back” daily meals for students, many of whom depend on the school for their one nutritious meal of the day​3.

U.S. aid in Laos also supported health clinics, rural development, and crucially, the clearance of unexploded ordnance (UXO). Laos remains the most heavily bombed country per capita in the world, a legacy of the Vietnam War. As RFA noted, less than 10% of the contaminated land has been cleared​, and American funding (through both USAID and State Department programs) has been instrumental in UXO removal. Sera Koulabdara, CEO of Legacies of War, which works on education and advocacy around removal of landmines in Southeast Asia, emphasized the danger of pausing this work saying “just this month in Laos, a 36-year-old man was killed while simply cooking, an innocent victim of an American war that continues to plague the country.3” The overall picture drawn by regional media is that Laos’s most vulnerable – poor rural students, remote villages needing health services, families in UXO-affected districts – are the quiet casualties of this geopolitical decision. And like in Cambodia, the void left by U.S. aid likely enhances the leverage of China, which has already lent Laos billions and may now face less competition in shaping Laos’s development path.

Nepal

Nepal’s press reacted with alarm at the freeze of U.S. assistance, emphasizing the breadth of programs now in limbo. The Kathmandu Post reports that at least four major U.S.-funded government projects have been paused – spanning health, agriculture, education, and inclusive governance – after the Trump administration’s order​[5]. These include a $25 million health systems program and a $21 million food security initiative, both launched within the last two years, now stalled mid-implementation.

In addition, USAID’s five-year Education support program (up to $85 million) and an Inclusive Policy reform project were abruptly interrupted. Outside of government-to-government aid, Nepal has a vast NGO sector heavily supported by USAID – roughly 300 Nepali NGOs, consultancies and nonprofits receive U.S. assistance, all of which is now frozen. The head of the NGO Federation of Nepal also noted that many programs they believe will “not [be] aligned with the [Trump] administration’s priorities – like nutrition, climate change and LGBTQI issues – will also be affected.” Local media have underscored the blow to Nepal’s health services in particular. The Health Ministry warned that the suspension could “seriously impact the healthcare sector”, coming in the middle of critical efforts like a nationwide micronutrient survey and a long-awaited demographic health study – both now put on hold​. An unnamed health official told the Post that even disease surveillance for vaccine-preventable illnesses was being stopped due to lack of funds3.

Bangladesh

In Bangladesh, one of Asia’s largest recipients of USAID, the media reaction has been intense and deeply personal. News reports quickly tallied the disruption across sectors: everything from health programs and cyclone relief to initiatives bolstering fair elections have been impacted​[8]. The Daily Star characterized the aid freeze as “dangerous…sending shockwaves across the world”, and Bangladeshi commentators have been unsparing in outlining the stakes​[9]. A Dhaka economic daily revealed that a planned USAID project “Strengthening Political Landscape in Bangladesh” program to support democratic participation – was abruptly canceled. The loss of this, and other, democracy-promoting programs comes at a sensitive time for Bangladesh, where civil society groups have been advocating for electoral reforms and transparency. Local observers warn that without such outside support, efforts to monitor elections and empower voters could falter, potentially entrenching the ruling establishment.9

Beyond democracy programs, the human toll has been highlighted in Bangladeshi media through concrete examples. In Bangla-language outlets, headlines spoke of “thousands in peril” as “more than 1,000 employees of a health research NGO lost their jobs” almost immediately, who were hired under U.S.-funded projects[10]. A local NGO leader quoted in a Bengali news segment described the scene: “our staff have suddenly been rendered unemployed,” as the USAID-backed health initiative they worked on ground to a halt. Such stories put a human face on what could otherwise sound like abstract budget cuts but also underline the loss of income for skilled development professionals and the brain drain risk if they must seek jobs abroad or in other sectors. Media in Bangladesh have also zeroed in on the impact to anti-corruption and counter-disinformation efforts, areas where U.S. assistance was active. USAID and affiliated U.S. democracy funds have quietly supported investigative journalism, fact-checking alliances, and training for local election observers in Bangladesh: muddling local political narratives and potentially emboldening propagandists. “The media, especially women journalists, are already few in number, and when organizations like ours lose resources, it is a step back,” one Bangladeshi NGO head was quoted as saying1.

Philippines

In the Philippines, the USAID funding pause has jeopardized dozens of ongoing projects and prompted appeals to safeguard high-priority programs. The Philippine Star reported that at least 39 development projects (worth about ₱4 billion pesos, or roughly $70+ million) are now “in limbo” due to Trump’s aid freeze[11]. The national government’s response has been relatively muted. The Department of Foreign Affairs declined to comment directly on Washington’s decision, merely “affirming the value” of U.S. development cooperation in general​. This likely reflects the Philippines’ delicate approach to a key ally; Manila does not want to politicize the issue. Behind the scenes, however, officials are evaluating how to plug holes in funding. The Philippines, which has its own budget constraints, will struggle to immediately replace USAID’s resources in areas like rural healthcare or disaster preparedness (USAID has helped fund community climate resilience and emergency response training in the archipelago). Filipino media have also pointed out that the freeze could slow the country’s efforts to combat its “fastest rising” health threats and poverty challenges[12]. A report by ABS-CBN News noted that U.S. aid has been pivotal in curbing maternal deaths and tuberculosis in the Philippines – progress now at risk. Local aid workers have expressed concern that hard-won development targets (such as in malaria elimination and basic education enrollment) might be missed without the expected support.

---

[1] https://cambojanews.com/u-s-aid-freeze-forces-cambodian-government-to-seek-new-funding-partners-amid-ngo-layoffs/#:~:text=Amid%20a%20disruption%20of%20key,Washington%20to%20reconsider%20its%20decision

[2] https://www.genocidewatch.com/single-post/in-cambodian-mine-clearance-china-replaces-usaid#:~:text=Why%20It%20Matters

[3] https://www.rfa.org/english/laos/2025/01/29/southeast-asia-us-funding-freeze-impacts/#:~:text=Heng%20Ratana%2C%20head%20of%20the,government

[4] https://www.thaipbs.or.th/news/content/348676

[5] https://kathmandupost.com/national/2025/01/28/trump-s-aid-freeze-hits-four-usaid-projects-in-nepal#:~:text=engagements%2C%20were%20discussed%2C%20said%20the,foreign%20ministry

[6] https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/us-aid-freeze-triggers-healthcare-crisis-on-myanmar-thai-border.html#:~:text=The%20aid%20suspension%20has%20so,IRC

[7] https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/myanmar-refugees-face-sudden-discharge-thai-hospitals-shuttered-by-us-aid-freeze-2025-01-29/#:~:text=Bweh%20Say%2C%20a%20member%20of,using%20their%20equipment%20and%20medicine

[8] https://theprint.in/world/bangladesh-braces-for-fallout-of-usaid-suspension-with-health-sector-to-bear-brunt/2479614/#:~:text=New%20Delhi%3A%20The%20suspension%20of,like%20governance%2C%20health%2C%20and%20education

[9] https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/views/opinions/usaid-freeze-how-does-it-affect-world

[10] https://www.benarnews.org/english/commentaries/trump-aid-freeze-chance-to-revamp-us-programs-in-bangladesh-02032025113725.html#:~:text=providers%20of%20development%20programs%20in,moment%20in%20their%20people%E2%80%99s%20history

[11] https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2025/02/04/2418950/trumps-aid-freeze-suspends-least-p4b-philippines-programs#:~:text=Trump%27s%20aid%20freeze%20suspends%20at,in%20the%20Philippines%20into%20limbo

[12] https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2025/2/4/usaid-freeze-calls-into-question-billions-in-support-for-poorest-countries-0914