Washington, D.C., January 26, 2025 – Bread for the World issued the following statement on the Administration’s temporary pause of new and existing foreign assistance programs funded by or through the State Department and USAID. The statement can be attributed to Rev. Eugene Cho, president and CEO of Bread for the World.
“Bread for the World is deeply concerned by the order temporarily pausing new and existing U.S. foreign assistance programs and urges an immediate end to this interruption of services as the Administration completes its necessary review of these critical programs, which we believe will show they are effective and in the interest of the United States. A thorough review can occur without interrupting these lifesaving programs. Moreover, in the long run, the related Stop-Work Order issued by the State Department will end up costing U.S. taxpayers, negatively affect U.S. influence globally, and, more importantly, have a devastating impact on the world’s most vulnerable people. Among other essential programs, since the 1960s, U.S. foreign aid has been providing lifesaving nutrition assistance to tens of millions of people, specifically women and children, each year. Nutrition programs enable countries to improve the health of their populations and strengthen their economies while also supporting U.S. strategic interests and national security by building and maintaining relationships with partner countries and promoting regional stability.”
In 2023 alone, USAID nutrition programs reached more than 39 million women and children globally with critical nutrition assistance, including:
- 28 million children with nutrition programs
- 11 million women with counseling on maternal and child nutrition and micronutrient supplementation
- 6 million infants and young children through nutrition education, resources, and programs provided to families and caregivers
- 256,000 people with professional nutrition training and skills development to deliver nutrition-related interventions
“While we applaud the Administration’s inclusion of a waiver for emergency food aid, by pausing all other foreign assistance programs, many mothers and their children receiving aid from those programs will undoubtedly go without. The Bible is clear, reminding us that as we do unto the ‘least of these’ among us, we do as unto Jesus (Matthew 25:40). We urge Secretary Marco Rubio and the State Department to conduct a swift yet thorough review of foreign aid programs while continuing the lifesaving work these programs provide.”
