Policy Updates

On March 28, 2025, the US administration announced plans to merge USAID into the State Department, dissolving it as an independent agency and reducing staffing to a statutory minimum of 15 positions, and additionally detailed specific cuts to USAID grants and multilateral funding.

Congress must pass new legislation to officially eliminate the agency. The State Department will create an Office of Global Food Security to manage food security and humanitarian programs previously handled by USAID. The remaining global health programs will be supervised by the Bureau of Global Health Security and Diplomacy. Other programs will be managed by regional bureaus within the State Department.

Deputy administrator of policy and programs at USAID Jeremy Lewin informed staff that employment contracts would be severed by July 1 or September 2, 2025. By July 1, 2025, the State Department will fully take over USAID’s remaining programming. By September 2, 2025, USAID’s operations will transfer to State or shut down completely.

The administration also provided Congress with documents listing 5,341 terminated USAID programs and 898 active ones, detailing that 86% of programs have been terminated, slightly more than the 83% cut reported on March 10, 2025. The total value of terminated programs is US$75.9 billion, with US$48.2 billion already obligated and US$27.7 billion yet to be assigned.

UN institutions and other multilaterals saw steep cuts, with terminated awards totaling US$4.1 billion to 14 UN agencies, the IBRD, and Gavi.

On October 30, 2023, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and US President Joe Biden issued a joint statement on development cooperation following a state meeting in Washington DC, US.

The statement detailed a plan to cooperate on clean energy supply chains and seek advice on clean energy cooperation and industry development from both the public and private sector. It also included plans for the development of an Indo-Pacific Zero Transition Bond, to generate funding for SMEs focused on clean energy transition.

Albanese and Biden noted the assurance that the GCF, as well as other multilateral funding agencies' resources, will remain accessible to the vulnerable states most affected by climate change, particularly small island states.

The statement noted that the US and Australia would additionally assist in the financing of submarine cable connections for Pacific Island countries.

Both countries announced plans to assist ASEAN initiatives to develop sustainable and resilient agri-food systems, including through the strengthening of regional agricultural R&D.

On October 26, 2023, USAID announced that it was investing US$79 million in its Feed the Future initiative to expand its lab network with two new laboratories, as well as the expansion of a preexisting lab.

One laboratory, based at Kansas State University, will focus on developing climate-resilient crops, including staple crops such as rice, wheat, sorghum, and millet. The second laboratory, led by the University of Nebraska, will focus on its research on irrigation and water systems to help smallholder farmers identify technological solutions to reduce manual labor and increase efficiency.

A joint venture between the labs will lead a US$2 million, three-year effort to mitigate Brucelloisis infections in livestock and humans.