Kabul, Afghanistan — In early 2025, a political shift in Washington triggered one of the most sweeping aid shutdowns in modern history. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), once a cornerstone of post-conflict stabilization in countries like Afghanistan, was dissolved and folded into the U.S. State Department. For contractors, NGOs, and aid workers on the ground, the consequences were immediate — and devastating.
In a matter of weeks, USAID was ordered to freeze or cancel more than 5,200 programs worldwide — around 83% of its active projects. Contractors across sectors, including healthcare, logistics, governance, food security, and infrastructure, were hit with sudden termination notices. Afghanistan was one of the hardest-hit regions, with nearly every USAID-backed contract pulled without transition or relief.
Afghanistan: Ground Zero for Aid Cuts
By April 2025, reports confirmed that every USAID contract still active in Afghanistan had been terminated. These included emergency food distributions, medical services, education programs, and critical infrastructure support. Contractors who had invested years building systems in-country were left scrambling to wind down operations and evacuate staff — many without payment for services already rendered.
Over 420 health clinics were shut down across 28 of Afghanistan's 34 provinces.
Food aid from the World Food Programme dropped by more than 60% due to the loss of U.S. funding.
Medical services for women, children, and those displaced by conflict were halted mid-operation.
Clean water projects, anti-malaria campaigns, and gender-based violence response programs were all canceled overnight.
Impact on Contractors
From security firms and logistics providers to NGOs and engineering teams, the cancellations left thousands of professionals stranded — some with unpaid invoices, others facing logistical nightmares retrieving equipment or closing facilities. Afghan locals employed by U.S. contractors suddenly lost jobs, housing, and in some cases, their pathway to Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) support.
Contractors working under these programs report:
Loss of long-term contracts and no bridge funding for transitions.
Zero guidance on asset disposition or demobilization support.
Cancelled grants and cooperative agreements with no legal recourse.
Structural Collapse of USAID
As of July 1, 2025, USAID officially ceased to exist as an independent agency. It was absorbed into the State Department, stripping away decades of operational infrastructure, field staff, and contractor networks that had operated autonomously in conflict zones.
This structural collapse left many in the contractor community questioning what will fill the void — or whether anything will.
The Bottom Line
Afghanistan’s humanitarian support system, already hanging by a thread, was effectively dismantled in a matter of weeks. Contractors who formed the backbone of U.S. aid delivery are now dealing with a harsh new reality: unpaid contracts, lost missions, and no clear path forward.
As Washington pivots, one thing is clear: the era of large-scale USAID operations in places like Afghanistan is over — and the people left behind are paying the price.
(POC) - AECOM will provide program management advisory and technical advisory support to help Ukraine rebuild its infrastructure, the company announced last month. The Dallas-based firm signed a memorandum of understanding with Ukraine’s Ministry for Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development to serve as its reconstruction delivery partner.
A Kyiv School of Economics report released in March said the damage Russia has caused to Ukraine’s infrastructure after a year of war has reached $36.2 billion in replacement costs. That number rises to $143.8 billion when including housing, healthcare, energy and other types of facilities.
“The reconstruction of Ukraine is one of the world’s greatest humanitarian and infrastructure priorities, and we are honored to partner with Deputy Prime Minister Kubrakov and the Ukrainian government to help position this effort to successfully deliver on their long-term recovery ambitions,” AECOM CEO Troy Rudd said in the release.
In the role, AECOM will help design and establish an overall program management approach to aid in the efficient delivery of a range of reconstruction projects. Additionally, the firm announced it will work with Ukraine’s State Agency for Restoration and Development of Infrastructure to advance cost estimating and engineering support for complex and critical infrastructure projects.
The company did not disclose the value of the contracts.
AECOM has delivered major reconstruction work around the world in Iraq, Afghanistan and Bosnia, according to the release, as well as post-natural disaster reconstruction in Nepal, Haiti, Japan, Indonesia and the Caribbean.
(POC) — The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has deployed a Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART), which will work in close coordination with Turkish authorities on the front lines, as well as with our partners on the ground and agencies across the U.S. government. The DART is assessing the situation, identifying priority humanitarian needs, and working to provide search and rescue. We are in the process of deploying USAID Urban Search and Rescue teams from Fairfax and Los Angeles County Fire Departments. These two teams will be part of the USAID DART and will coordinate with Turkish authorities
