Why We Did This Evaluation
· In 2025, responsibilities for managing U.S. foreign assistance shifted significantly across the U.S. government. On January 20, 2025, the administration initiated a pause and review of all foreign assistance, including USAID programs. On March 28, the Department of State (State) notified Congress that USAID would cease operating as an independent agency. Certain functions and programs would transition to State by July 1, 2025, including foreign assistance awards USAID managed. As of May 15, 2026, there were 1,359 USAID awards (19 percent) that remained active to support different programs State or USAID managed.
· For over 40 years, USAID OIG has been the primary entity conducting independent oversight of U.S. foreign assistance. We have issued hundreds of reports and made thousands of recommendations to strengthen humanitarian and development assistance programs.
· Given our extensive oversight expertise and the transition of responsibility for U.S. foreign assistance from USAID to State, we conducted this evaluation to (1) summarize active foreign assistance awards previously managed by USAID and (2) identify key lessons from our prior oversight work related to managing foreign assistance awards.
· Our analysis of the data for foreign assistance awards transferred to State and the lessons we identified can better position State and other stakeholders to manage awards throughout the program cycle. Applying the lessons can also increase the effectiveness, efficiency, and impact of ongoing and future foreign assistance, and provide greater insights to Congress and the public.
What We Found
· About $40.7 billion in foreign assistance awards previously managed by USAID remain active, primarily supporting health, disaster, and humanitarian programs. Of that amount, approximately $39.6 billion (97 percent) supported programs for a specific country or were designated as worldwide. Moreover, we found that about $36.1 billion (89 percent) in active foreign assistance awards were obligated for health programs, and disaster and humanitarian assistance programs.