U.S. Revokes Grants for Multiple Countries, Including Uzbekistan
The U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, has made the decision to cancel 139 grants totaling $215 million that were originally designated for various countries, as reported by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
One of the grants that was revoked was $2.5 million intended to promote “civic engagement” in Uzbekistan. Other cancelled grants included $5.2 million for a “counter-disinformation program” in the United Kingdom, $2 million for Moldova, $1 million to “advance the rights of freelance workers” in Brazil, $2.4 million to “combat disinformation with creative content” in Belarus, and $1.7 million for “independent media for peace and democracy” in Europe.
In addition to these, grants were withdrawn from projects such as a $1.5 million project on “gender-sensitive justice and accountability led by women”, $1.7 million for Bulgaria, $900,000 for a women’s organizing initiative in Mauritania, $750,000 to “create a migrant domestic workers’ movement” in Lebanon, and $740,000 for a feminist “freedom of expression initiative” in Tunisia.
This action follows the freezing of $2.2 billion in grants and $60 million in contracts to Harvard University by the U.S. government. The decision came after the university indicated that it would not comply with the Trump administration’s requirements regarding on-campus activism.
The grants that have been cancelled and frozen represent a significant shift in U.S. foreign aid and support to various countries and initiatives. It remains to be seen how this decision will impact the affected regions and projects moving forward.
