Trump’s USAID Order Stops Clinical Trials, Devices Left Untested

livewell
February 7, 2025
Noah Bennett

The real-world impact of President Donald Trump’s plan to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development is becoming evident. The agency’s stop-work order has stranded thousands of individuals with experimental drugs and medical devices in their bodies.

According to The New York Times, numerous clinical trials that depended on USAID funding have been abruptly halted. In addition, this has left patients stranded and uncertain. Moreover, this disruption stems from Trump’s executive order, which imposed a three-month freeze on foreign aid grants. It further cut off access to researchers and critical support.

Impacts of USAID Hault

The impact of the USAID halt is disastrous. Accounts from charities and healthcare professionals reveal that the first week of the freeze has had severe and far-reaching consequences. Additionally, efforts to curb the spread of HIV and Mpox have been stopped, and women’s health services have been forced to close. Moreover, vital water and sanitation programs have been put on hold.

In interviews, scientists—restricted by the stop-work order from speaking to the media—shared their painful dilemma. Either defy the order to continue caring for trial volunteers or abandon them to navigate potential side effects and risks on their own.

A statement by Dr. Sharon Hiller, a professor of Reproductive Infectious Diseases at the University of Pittsburgh also came forward:

“I’ve never seen anything like it in my 40 years of doing international research. It’s unethical, it’s dangerous and it’s reckless.”

Further Frozen Studies

A statement by Dr. Mansoor further highlights the complications of frozen clinical trials.

“My first thought when I saw this order was, There are rings in people’s bodies and you cannot leave them. For me, ethics and participants come first. There is a line.”

In the communities served by the organization, volunteers have spent over 25 years testing HIV treatments, prevention, and medical products. Additionally, The Times identified more than 30 frozen studies volunteering in the care of researchers abandoned by the Trump administration. These trials included:

malaria treatment in children under age 5 in Mozambique
treatment for cholera in Bangladesh
a screen-and-treat method for cervical cancer in Malawi
tuberculosis treatment for children and teenagers in Peru and South Africa
nutritional support for children in Ethiopia
early-childhood-development interventions in Cambodia
ways to support pregnant and breastfeeding women to reduce malnutrition in Jordan
an mRNA vaccine technology for H.I.V. in South Africa

It is difficult to know the total number of trials shut down. Moreover, people affected by the swift demolition of the USAID in recent days have been erased from the public record. Furthermore, the stop-work order prevents any implementing agency from publicly discussing the situation.

In The End

The shutdown of clinical trials has raised critical consequences. Significantly, the trials that did not receive direct USAID funding have been disrupted. In addition, the medical and development infrastructure supported by the agency is now nonfunctional. Furthermore, millions of dollars in U.S. taxpayer funds already invested in launching these trials will be lost.