No Land Left Unscathed: The impacts of USAID cuts on Uzbekistan

Written by William White

Edited by Ray Wu and Botond Horvath

When President Donald Trump won last November’s election, some speculated about potential changes in US economic and foreign policies. However, few saw just how significant and consequential this reordering would prove to be. Namely, through Elon Musk’s new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has been rapid. For our research, the negative effects of the cut on Central Asia and Uzbekistan’s millions of citizens are still to be determined.

As of 2023 (2024 has yet to be fully released), USAID provided $40.17 million to various projects in both private and public sectors within Uzbekistan. The United States State Department contributed another $15.62 million, with the Department of the Treasury and Department of Defense contributing some smaller amounts. According to DOGE, specific information on the cuts made to USAID is unavailable due to “legal reasons.” This is a purposeful action to hide the full effects these cuts will have from the general public. According to a third-party estimate, the total amount of funding cut from USAID stands at $13.237 billion, this reportedly includes all funding earmarked for Uzbekistan.

This prompts our team to ask several questions, including, what are the specifics of what is being cut and how are these cuts creating new challenges for Uzbekistan? This is especially relevant to the spheres of education and youth development. According to a US embassy press release, funding for students of all ages made up a significant portion of USAID’s contribution in Uzbekistan. This is earmarked for students all the way from preschool to the eleventh grade, with an emphasis on mathematics and English. The $6.1 million cut mentioned in the press release–a small percentage of the overall “efficiency agenda”–is showing harmful consequences for the Uzbek education system. We can only assume that such effects are felt even more strongly by the country’s other institutions.

For example, the impact of USAID cuts on the food and healthcare sectors is also salient. Specifically, US-based firm Harvest Lentil Pro, contracted to supply 131.32 metric tons of food to Uzbekistan, has been impacted. A trans-central Asian program to fight tuberculosis, valued at around $22 million, is also presumed to have been cut. While not our project's main focus, we have planned to visit the Aral Sea (particularly affected by tuberculosis and cancer due to Soviet-era mining activities and nuclear testing) and other underserved communities. In the coming days, we will meet with Catherine Putz, the managing editor of “The Diplomat,” whose article provided invaluable information. With her guidance, we will aim to gather information about the ground-level changes felt by the population.

While these developments are fresh, they present an extra angle to take note of when conducting our research across Uzbekistan. Insight into how cuts are affecting schools, educators, and students on the ground will be invaluable to the understanding of Uzbekistan’s place within the post-2024 US influence framework and global education as a whole. In spending 25 days in the country, we hope to use our age advantage to understand the rapidly changing systems of Uzbekistan amidst the evolving global dynamics from the everyday citizens’ perspective.