{"id":2862,"date":"2026-07-31T05:41:05","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T05:41:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cnnglobalnews.com\/2026\/07\/31\/a-quarter-of-young-africans-believe-usaid-cuts-could-be-positive-survey-finds\/"},"modified":"2026-07-31T05:41:05","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T05:41:05","slug":"a-quarter-of-young-africans-believe-usaid-cuts-could-be-positive-survey-finds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/?p=2862","title":{"rendered":"A quarter of young Africans believe USAID cuts could be positive, survey finds"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-gu-name=\"media\" class=\"dcr-14sl0e4\">\n<div class=\"dcr-17l77cs\">\n<figure id=\"50c1846a-196e-447f-870c-63c59948a7f9\" class=\"dcr-191xnya\">\n<div id=\"img-1\" class=\"dcr-1t7hdmw\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Sports fans in Accra, Ghana waving the national flag. \" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/4dd271160dec72444f8effd07d4020694f256227\/560_0_5262_4209\/master\/5262.jpg?width=465&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"465\" height=\"371.9469783352338\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"dcr-up96pv\"><span class=\"dcr-kogzpx\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-18mnkpm\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1294qmb\"><label for=\"the-checkbox\" class=\"dcr-4sl2vt\"><\/label> <\/p>\n<div id=\"the-caption\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1mfxiaj\"><span class=\"dcr-13i4yc9\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1cipnsy\">Sports fans in Accra, Ghana waving the national flag. More than 40% of Ghanaians aged 18-24 were optimistic about their country\u2019s future after USAID cuts.<\/span> Photograph: Ulrich Doering\/Alamy<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><a href=\"#img-1\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-zwabc0\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"50c1846a-196e-447f-870c-63c59948a7f9\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-1bitgpn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-1shbixy\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"dcr-qda0hp\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1e9iiy9\"><span class=\"dcr-13i4yc9\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1cipnsy\">Sports fans in Accra, Ghana waving the national flag. More than 40% of Ghanaians aged 18-24 were optimistic about their country\u2019s future after USAID cuts.<\/span> Photograph: Ulrich Doering\/Alamy<\/figcaption><\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"headline\" class=\"dcr-ql9l8l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-6mja0y\">\n<h1 class=\"dcr-l0wuod\">A quarter of young Africans believe USAID cuts could be positive, survey finds<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"standfirst\" class=\"dcr-1xpojbf\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1gm5ptv\">\n<p>Losing funds should force leaders to confront their own challenges, they said, while many voiced concerns over increasing foreign influence <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"body\" class=\"dcr-x1al2c\">\n<div class=\"dcr-11gq2tx\">\n<div id=\"maincontent\" class=\"dcr-1w2vkyc\">\n<div class=\"article-body-commercial-selector article-body-viewer-selector dcr-ogvvui\">\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">A quarter of young Africans believe aid cuts by the US could have a positive impact, saying that losing foreign money will force leaders to confront and solve their own challenges, according to a new survey.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">In Ghana and Nigeria, almost half (41% and 40% respectively) of young people aged 18 to 24 were optimistic, with Liberia not far behind (37%). A further one in 10 (11%) young people were uncertain about the impact, according to the African Youth Survey, which interviewed almost 5,000 people across 16 of the continent\u2019s 54 recognised countries.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The Trump administration announced in early 2025 that it was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2025\/feb\/26\/trump-usaid-cuts\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">eliminating more than 90% of USAID\u2019s foreign contracts<\/a> and $60bn in overall US assistance around the world. US foreign aid had been designed to play a critical role in tackling poverty, hunger and inequality worldwide.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Other countries, including Britain, France and Germany, have also been slashing aid budgets. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/politics\/2025\/feb\/28\/keir-starmer-carry-out-largest-cut-uk-overseas-aid-in-history\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">UK announced in February 2025<\/a> that the aid budget would be cut from 0.5% of gross national income to 0.3% in 2027, its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/politics\/2025\/feb\/28\/keir-starmer-carry-out-largest-cut-uk-overseas-aid-in-history\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">lowest level<\/a> as a percentage of national income since records began. The UN target is 0.7%.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Ivor Ichikowitz, whose South African family foundation commissioned the report, said: \u201cThe big picture [from the survey] is that the youth is concerned about governments that are overly influenced by foreign powers. What they\u2019re saying is that African governments need to take agency and responsibility for their own reality.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"50878581-8c14-48c5-bb5f-184d00e3041a\" data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.ImageBlockElement\" class=\"dcr-d9bay7\">\n<div id=\"img-2\" class=\"dcr-1t7hdmw\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"A World Food Programme distribution centre in Dikwa, Borno state, Nigeria, August 2025.\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/a5c324d91be3651dd719952013531c645f979aba\/170_0_3181_2544\/master\/3181.jpg?width=445&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"445\" height=\"355.888085507702\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"dcr-up96pv\"><a href=\"#img-2\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-zwabc0\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"50878581-8c14-48c5-bb5f-184d00e3041a\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-1bitgpn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-1shbixy\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-174mzkf\"><span class=\"dcr-vyhg7z\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1cipnsy\">A World Food Programme distribution centre in Dikwa, Borno state, Nigeria, August 2025.<\/span> Photograph: Sodiq Adelakun\/Reuters<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Africa has the youngest population in the world, with 70% of sub-Saharan Africa under the age of 30, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/ohrlls\/news\/young-people%E2%80%99s-potential-key-africa%E2%80%99s-sustainable-development\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">according to the UN<\/a>. The median age of the continent is 19 years and six months. By 2030, Africa will be <a href=\"https:\/\/www.prb.org\/resource\/africas-future-youth-and-the-data-defining-their-lives\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">home to more than 40% of the world\u2019s youth<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The sudden <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/usaid\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">USAID<\/a> cuts were met with public outrage and pushback from development and humanitarian organisations. They caused the closure of vital services, including maternity clinics, and medicine shortages at a time when UN agencies are struggling to find money for their humanitarian work and food insecurity has been worsened by the climate crisis.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">According to the survey, nearly half of African youth (46%) did believe the closure of USAID would have a damaging impact on their countries, with healthcare services and disease prevention seen as the areas most affected. This anxiety is highest in Mozambique (76%), followed by Kenya (63%) and Rwanda (63%), where youth feel the cuts will disproportionately affect the most vulnerable members of society.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Degan Ali, executive director of <a href=\"https:\/\/adesoafrica.org\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Adeso, an African non-profit <\/a>incubating ideas and enterprises to lower aid dependency, said that while the cuts were carried out in a \u201chugely irresponsible and inhumane\u201d manner, she was not surprised that a significant proportion of young people saw positivity there. \u201cI think it\u2019s a reflection of the general feeling. A lot of people find aid very demeaning,\u201d she said. \u201cThey didn\u2019t feel that the aid was being used for the right things and there is a sense of \u2018We can do this for ourselves\u2019. The younger generation feel like our leaders are the duty bearers and are supposed to be handling the needs of our communities.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"319fe6a7-ff78-4f2d-a757-22dd2e4d2fbe\" data-spacefinder-role=\"richLink\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement\" class=\"dcr-1oq85qr\">\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" data-link-name=\"rich-link-10 | 10\" data-component=\"rich-link\" data-name=\"placeholder\" class=\"dcr-1rx5ky9\">\n<div data-format-theme=\"5\" data-format-design=\"0\" data-format-display=\"0\" class=\"dcr-uyoh2p\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/global-development\/2026\/jan\/01\/us-aid-cuts-conditions-un-humanitarian-pledge-ocha\" class=\"dcr-f35c0u\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-vvxpdt\">\n<div class=\"dcr-6z6e7\">\n<div class=\"dcr-zh9rih\">US \u2018adapt, shrink or die\u2019 terms for $2bn aid pot will mean UN bowing down to Washington, say experts<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-oj13vq\">\n<div class=\"dcr-ef9nua\">Read more<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">She said people believed that the aid that comes into a country is not going to the right causes or the right people. \u201cThere\u2019s all this money going into the development sector, but they\u2019re not really seeing major changes on the ground,\u201d she said. \u201cThe younger generation is very politically active and more savvy. They are pushing back and trying to hold their leaders accountable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">She also said that the youth was looking towards African role models on the continent, a move exemplified by the popularity of Burkina Faso\u2019s military leader, Ibrahim Traor\u00e9, who portrays himself as a pan-Africanist figure leading his nation out of the clutches of western imperialism and neocolonialism.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cHe is one of the more popular leaders across the entire continent of Africa,\u201d said Ali. \u201cThere are <em>matatus<\/em> (minibus taxis) that have his name on in Nairobi, Kenya. The youth see that he is turning around a very poor country and that he really cares about his people. That further motivates young people to protest and say, \u2018We don\u2019t need aid, we have enough resources in our country and we need our leaders to behave differently.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Hibak Kalfan, executive director of Near, a network of civil society organisations from the global south, said the shuttering of USAID had led to the closure of initiatives and organisations across the whole continent, but had also created the opportunity to reconsider resources and sustainability. \u201cIt has put a real light on the fact that [organisations] have been highly dependent on bilateral external funding for years, and the future of aid will depend on a diversity of resources,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" class=\"dcr-swayiu\"><span class=\"dcr-1xhbmzr\">Explore more on these topics<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-2c03t5\">\n<ul class=\"dcr-p7nd18\">\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/global-development\/global-development\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Global development<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/global-development\/aid\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Aid<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/trump-administration\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Trump administration<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/usaid\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">USAID<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/world\/africa\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Africa<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/us-politics\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">US politics<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/tone\/news\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">news<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-313bdz\"><a href=\"mailto:?subject=A%20quarter%20of%20young%20Africans%20believe%20USAID%20cuts%20could%20be%20positive,%20survey%20finds&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/global-development\/2026\/jul\/30\/a-quarter-of-young-africans-believe-usaid-cuts-could-be-positive-survey-finds?CMP=share_btn_url\" class=\"dcr-ncybeu\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-19bkree\"><a data-link-name=\"meta-syndication-article\" href=\"https:\/\/syndication.theguardian.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fglobal-development%2F2026%2Fjul%2F30%2Fa-quarter-of-young-africans-believe-usaid-cuts-could-be-positive-survey-finds&amp;type=article&amp;internalpagecode=global-development\/2026\/jul\/30\/a-quarter-of-young-africans-believe-usaid-cuts-could-be-positive-survey-finds\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" title=\"Reuse this content\" class=\"dcr-1c41onw\">Reuse this content<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"right-column\" class=\"dcr-1kq7f60\"><span class=\"dcr-1ryr20k\"><\/span><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sports fans in Accra, Ghana waving the national flag. More than 40% of Ghanaians aged 18-24 were optimistic about their country\u2019s future after USAID cuts. Photograph: Ulrich Doering\/Alamy View image &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/?p=2862\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":2863,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2862","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2862","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2862"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2862\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2863"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2862"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2862"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2862"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}