In a small village of southwest Bangladesh, Ayesha Rahman, a 32-year-old mother of three, had spent years struggling to feed her children.

Malnutrition was a quiet crisis, gnawing away at the youngest, the pregnant, and the adolescent girls in one of the world's most densely populated nations. Clean water was scarce, sanitation barely adequate. The cycle of poor health and poverty felt endless.

Then came a flicker of hope — the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). America's key global humanitarian agency offered technical support to local health workers, empowered women with economic opportunities, and promoted hygiene and sanitation to break the cycle of malnutrition.

Under the Feed the Future Bangladesh Nutrition Activity, USAID allocated $7 million for nutritional development, part of its broader $400 million commitment to Bangladesh in fiscal year 2023.

For the first time, Ayesha saw change. Her children had better access to nutritious food. But last month, without a warning, the funding was gone.

An executive order from the Trump administration on January 20, 2025, froze all US foreign aid, abruptly halting projects like the one that had given Ayesha and many others a fighting chance.

The US government said it was globally shuttering all 80 USAID field missions and downsizing its staff, bringing an halt to its on-the-ground aid operations worldwide.

The impact was immediate. Clinics lost resources, outreach workers were sidelined, and communities were left to fend for themselves.

"The sudden freeze on USAID funding has been met with a mixture of frustration, bewilderment, and, of course, huge anxiety around the world," Peter Taylor, Director of the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, told TRT World.

"The US has been by far the largest international aid donor. A sudden stop order on US-funded activities has had an immediate negative impact on critical humanitarian and development work. It's affecting the most vulnerable — children, those with disabilities, people with health challenges."