According to the agency, the U.S. State Department has initiated a review of existing aid programs to determine their compliance with the new rules applicable to all American diplomatic missions.
These restrictions will take effect on February 26, and the total amount of affected funding is estimated to be around $30 billion.
The restrictions apply to both foreign non-governmental organizations and American entities. It is important to note that foreign NGOs are prohibited from using funds even from non-American donors if the goals of their programs fall under the areas that the U.S. administration considers "radical ideology."
Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed the possibility of exceptions, adding that the new measures should not affect "programs aimed at saving lives, responding to natural disasters, and other critically important priorities."
It is worth recalling that one of Donald Trump's first executive orders after his inauguration was to terminate programs supporting various social and gender groups across all federal agencies. The administration argued that such initiatives lead to "positive discrimination," where racial and gender characteristics are considered in hiring or resource allocation rather than professional skills.
Later, the Government Accountability Office began terminating contracts related to similar programs in the fields of education and healthcare. In response, several American companies announced they would cease applying these principles in their hiring practices.
