The Trump administration revealed details of how the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funded various projects in several countries including Sri Lanka that it deemed âridiculousâ over the years including $7.9 million allocated to teach Sri Lankan journalists how to avoid âbinary-gendered language.â
The documents further revealed that the USAID funded millions of dollars to countries for LGBT groups and their activism â a topic that Mr Trump is trying to discard from the US.Â
According to the document, the USAID funded $2 million for sex changes and LGBT activism in Guatemala, $1.1 million to an Armenian LGBT group, $1.5 million to promote LGBT advocacy in Jamaica, $2 million to promote LGBT equality through entrepreneurship in Latin America, $3.9 million for LGBT causes in the Western Balkans, $5.5 million for LGBT activism in Uganda, $6 million for advancing LGBT issues in priority countries around the world, and $6.3 million for men who have sex with men in South Africa.
Tech billionaire Elon Musk also reacted to the documents, calling it a âcrazy wasteâ of peopleâs tax money.
In recent days, USAID has faced significant disruption as part of the Trump administrationâs broader push to overhaul the federal government. On Monday, the administration announced it would merge USAID with the State Department, following days of turmoil at the agency and comments by tech billionaire and close presidential advisor Elon Musk, suggesting that USAID might be shut down entirely.
Employees have been told to stay out of USAIDâs headquarters in Washington, career staffers have been put on leave, contractors have been laid off, and international staffers across the globe have been ordered to return home.Â
USAID is the U.S. governmentâs lead humanitarian and development agency, providing assistance to countries worldwide to help address poverty, disease, and other humanitarian crises as well as to promote democracy and other U.S. interests.
Crazy waste of your tax money! https://t.co/9dEoj9xeMfâ Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 5, 2025
Here are a few projects on which USAID funded
â $7.9 million to teach Sri Lankan journalists how to avoid âbinary-gendered languageâ
â $20 million for a new Sesame Street show in Iraq
â $4.5+ million to âcombat disinformationâ in Kazakhstan
â $1.5 million for âart for inclusion of people with disabilitiesâ
â $2 million for sex changes and âLGBT activismâ in Guatemala
â $6 million to âtransform digital spaces to reflect feminist democratic principlesâ
â $2.1 million to help the BBC âvalue the diversity of Libyan societyâ
â $10 million worth of USAID-funded meals, which went to an al Qaeda-linked terrorist group
â $25 million for Deloitte to promote âgreen transportationâ in the country of Georgia
â $6 million for tourism in Egypt
â $2.5 million to promote âinclusionâ in Vietnam
â $16.8 million for a SEPARATE âinclusionâ group in Vietnam
â ~$5 million to EcoHealth Alliance, one of the key NGOs funding bat virus research at the Wuhan lab
â $20 million for a group related to a key player in the Russiagate impeachment hoax
â $1.1 million to an Armenian âLGBT groupâ
â $1.2 million to help the African Methodist Episcopal Church Service and Development Agency in Washington, D.C., build âa state-of-the-art 440 seat auditoriumâ
â $1.3 million to Arab and Jewish photographers
â $1.5 million to promote âLGBT advocacyâ in Jamaica
â $1.5 million to ârebuildâ the Cuban media ecosystem
â $2 million to promote âLGBT equality through entrepreneurshipâ in Latin America
â $500K to solve sectarian violence in Israel (just ten days before the Hamas October 7 attack)
â $2.3 million for âartisanal and small scale gold miningâ in the Amazon
â $3.9 million for âLGBT causesâ in the western Balkans
â $5.5 million for LGBT activism in Uganda
â $6 million for advancing LGBT issues in âpriority countries around the worldâ
â $6.3 million for men who have sex with men in South Africa
â $8.3 million for âUSAID Education: Equity and Inclusionâ
â USAIDâs âclimate strategyâ outlined a $150 billion âwhole-of-agencyâ approach to building an âequitable world with net-zero greenhouse gas emissions.â
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