What Withdrawal of USAID Meant  in Africa Continent 

It is no longer news that the United State’s president, Donald Trump, has put a halt to international spending for now and with that lots of Investments and parastatals that thrive on the same will be hard to come by.

The most important being the United State Agency for International Development (USAID), has left many both unemployed and depressed.

According to data, after the suspension of the USAID by the United State has catapulted a whooping sum of upto 9,700 people into unemployment, as the agency only retains less than 300 of its over 10,000 staff.

Interestingly, only 12, of the current 300 staff are from Africa.

What Does This Even Mean?

It is a notorious postulation that Africa had a long history of unemployment. The issue of joblessness has come far to become the new norm in Sub Saharan Africa.

According to data, around 36 million people were unemployed in Africa as of 2024. The total unemployed population on the continent gradually increased in the period under review. For instance, the number of unemployed individuals amounted to 28.65 million in 2014.

This dire situation mirrors the grim reality of the continent. It precludes it as a hotbed for unemployment. What’s even more worrisome is the fact that all Africans laid off by USAID would join the ugly quota of an already dire situation.

Corruption: The Biggest Malaise 

Although the reason for unemployment has been most times retorted to be intertwined between lack of the required skills and education, however, orruption is the first thief of dreams and Africa has a long history of that.

In 2023, Seychelles, in East Africa, was ranked as the least corrupt country in Africa, with a corruption perceptions index (CPI) score of 71. Cape Verde (an Island country in West Africa) followed with 64 points. On the other hand, Somalia (East Africa) was positioned at the bottom of the list, with a CPI of 11 points. 

In the Nigeria situation, more than 50% of the money in government is being syphoned into private pockets. Money meant for both infrastructure and creation of job opportunities.

Greener Pasture in the Mud

As the USAID releases more than 95% of its staff, being people from Sub Saharan Africa, Europe, Asia and other places in the world, the victims, as employed, now wallow in the cesspit of joblessness and frustration.

These people have inevitable joined the unemployment quota of their countries and continent respectively.