Quarter of young Africans see upside in USAID cuts – survey
A quarter of young Africans believe US foreign aid cuts could benefit their countries by pushing governments to tackle domestic challenges instead of relying on external assistance, African Youth Survey 2026 shows.
At the same time, nearly half of respondents said the closure of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) would have a negative impact.
The survey found that 26% of respondents viewed the aid cuts positively, while 46% expected adverse consequences, 16% said they would make no difference, and 11% were unsure. Optimism about the cuts was strongest in Ghana and Nigeria, whereas concern was highest in Mozambique, Rwanda and Kenya.
The report said just over half of respondents (53%) expected healthcare services and disease prevention to be the sectors hardest hit by the reduction in US funding. “Concern [was] felt most acutely in Zambia and Mozambique, where over four-in-five (83%) already report experiencing the impact, and in Kenya, where three-quarters (75%) say the same,” it said.
Education, economic development and food security were also among the areas most likely to be affected, according to those surveyed.
African Youth Survey 2026 was conducted by the Ichikowitz Family Foundation among 4,901 people aged 18 to 24 across 16 African countries. Researchers carried out face-to-face interviews in Burkina Faso, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Somalia, South Africa, Togo, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The findings echo the views of some African policy experts, who argue that the reduction in foreign aid could encourage governments to rely more on domestic resources.
“The collapse of USAID funding provides Africa and its leadership an opportunity to take a fundamental rethink of its over-reliance on Western foreign assistance and donor aid,” Michael Owuor, a researcher at the Global Centre for Policy and Strategy (GLOCEPS), told RT.
The findings come after US President Donald Trump’s administration moved to dismantle the agency. In February 2025, it announced that most of its employees would be placed on administrative leave. A month later, the US State Department said it was terminating around 6,300 USAID programs worldwide.
