The Trump administration has announced nearly $2 billion (R32.34 billion) in health and humanitarian assistance for faith-based organisations, placing several major Christian ministries at the center of a reshaped US foreign-aid strategy following sweeping cuts to USAID programs.
The State Department described the initiative as the largest announcement of global-health foreign assistance to faith-based organisations in more than two decades. World Vision will lead a Christian consortium providing health services, while also working with Compassion International and the Accord Network on disaster relief.
Of the roughly $2 billion initiative, about $1.4 billion is designated for health care, much of it in Africa. An $850 million, five-year funding pool could support a World Vision-led Faith and Community Initiative, although appropriations will be awarded annually. Another $538 million is slated primarily for disaster response, food, and clean-water programmes.
Samaritan’s Purse is receiving a separate $300 million, two-year award for natural disasters and prolonged humanitarian emergencies, while another $570 million is expected to reach faith-based hospitals and clinics through agreements with national governments.
The funding represents a major shift after the administration dramatically reduced USAID-backed foreign assistance beginning in 2025, arguing that significant portions of the agency’s spending were wasteful or inconsistent with US interests. Those cuts also affected Christian relief organisations, including World Vision, which previously estimated it would lose about $170 million in annual funding and cut roughly 11 percent of its U.S. workforce.
The new grants do not simply restore programmes that were eliminated. World Vision officials said the administration is instead establishing new channels for delivering aid, with greater reliance on faith-based organizations and direct partnerships with foreign governments.
The announcement also comes amid continuing debate over funding for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR. The decades-old programme remains one of America’s largest global health initiatives, supporting HIV treatment and prevention programs around the world.
For Christian humanitarian organisations, however, the new initiative marks a significant recognition by Washington of the extensive network of churches, hospitals, ministries, and relief organisations already serving some of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable communities.
