Central Asia’s poorest country Tajikistan says the loss of financial support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) will impact its work countering tuberculosis, HIV and malaria and efforts in maternal and child healthcare.

Local media reported on February 11 that in a report presented at a news conference in Dushanbe, Tajik Minister of Health and Social Protection of the Population, Jamoliddin Abdullozoda, stated: “Until a mechanism for USAID's further activities is determined, we will look for other ways to continue our work.”

On his first day in office, US President Donald Trump announced a near-total freeze on US foreign aid for 90 days, while his cost-cutting czar Elon Musk has said USAID should be shut down. USAID staff worldwide have been locked out of their jobs, with the matter now before a US district court.

Abdullozoda’s reference to “other ways” could signal that Tajikistan could turn to potential donors such as China or the EU with requests to fill any permanent funding gap that emerges from the Trump administration’s final decisions on USAID and foreign aid in general.

On February 11, bne IntelliNews reported on how the Trump administration's move to dismantle USAID are poised to deliver a significant blow to humanitarian and development programmes across Latin America, but will pave the way for China’s increased influence in the region.

The provision of international aid is an exercise in soft power and influence and the EU too appears to be considering stepping in with funding in certain places where the loss of USAID’s work will have significant consequences.

Given the more challenging international environment, the EU has committed to reviewing its multi-billion-euro external aid to more closely align its funding allocation with the bloc’s foreign policy interests.

Bloomberg on February 10 reported that the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, desires to become more transactional by revamping foreign aid and making it more “targeted for our partners”. The news service said it had seen a draft Commission document on the matter, noting at the same time that the EU does not want to become regarded as “the donor of last resort”.

The bloc reportedly intends to restructure its external aid to secure its strategic interests. These include firming alliances with like-minded nations, securing access to critical raw materials such as energy and technology transition metals and curbing the arrival of migrants.

A difficulty for the EU in deciding whether it can afford more generous foreign aid allocations is that given the changing geopolitical situation, including a more isolationist US, it and its member states also face the prospect of significantly higher defence expenditure.

In 2023, the EU and its member states were collectively the number one international aid donor, providing almost €96bn ($99bn) worldwide. The US expenditure was nearly $72bn.

The EU will in April hold its first ever summit with the five leaders of Central Asia. The meeting will take place in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. President of the European Council Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen are scheduled to attend.