Aid groups ordered to pause all US-funded programmes

The US Agency for International Development has told all aid groups to immediately pause all US-funded programmes "until further notice" as humanitarian groups grapple with a lack of clarity on waivers to President Donald Trump's 90-day aid pause, reports Reuters.

All USAID payments have also stopped. The agency made no payments on Tuesday for the first time since the fiscal year began on Oct 1, according to US Treasury data. On Monday USAID paid out $8 million and last week a total of $545 million.

Just hours after taking office on Jan 20, Trump ordered a 90-day pause so foreign aid contributions could be reviewed to see if they align with his "America First" foreign policy. The US is the world's largest aid donor.

The State Department then issued a "stop work" order on Friday for all existing foreign assistance and paused new aid, sparking a steady stream of individual notices to aid groups and UN agencies telling them to halt specific programmes.

Amid what some humanitarians have described as chaos and disorganization, USAID on Tuesday officially gave aid groups a blanket order to "take immediate action to pause implementation of USAID programme-funded activities and otherwise refrain from further commitments or expenditures of USAID funding, until further notice," according to a memo seen by Reuters.