More than a quarter of young Africans believe the US decision to cut most USAID funding could have a positive effect, according to the African Youth Survey. The survey, which interviewed nearly 5,000 people across 16 African countries, found that 25% of respondents aged 18 to 24 said losing foreign money would force leaders to confront and solve their own challenges.
Optimism in Ghana, Nigeria and Liberia
In Ghana, 41% of young people aged 18 to 24 were optimistic about the cuts, with Nigeria close behind at 40% and Liberia at 37%. A further 11% were uncertain about the impact.
Background to the cuts
The Trump administration announced in early 2025 that it was eliminating more than 90% of USAID's foreign contracts and $60bn in overall US assistance worldwide. US foreign aid had been designed to tackle poverty, hunger and inequality. Other countries, including Britain, France and Germany, have also reduced aid budgets. The UK said in February 2025 that the aid budget would fall from 0.5% of gross national income to 0.3% in 2027, its lowest level since records began. The UN target is 0.7%.
Youth desire for self-reliance
Ivor Ichikowitz, whose South African family foundation commissioned the report, said: “The big picture [from the survey] is that the youth is concerned about governments that are overly influenced by foreign powers. What they’re saying is that African governments need to take agency and responsibility for their own reality.”
Africa has the youngest population globally, with 70% of sub-Saharan Africa under 30, according to the UN. The median age is 19.5 years. By 2030, Africa will host over 40% of the world's youth.
Negative impact concerns
Despite the optimism, nearly half of African youth (46%) believed the closure of USAID would damage their countries, especially healthcare and disease prevention. Anxiety was highest in Mozambique (76%), followed by Kenya and Rwanda (both 63%).
Degan Ali, executive director of Adeso, said the cuts were carried out in a “hugely irresponsible and inhumane” manner, but she was not surprised that a significant proportion saw positivity. “I think it’s a reflection of the general feeling. A lot of people find aid very demeaning,” she said. “They didn’t feel that the aid was being used for the right things and there is a sense of ‘We can do this for ourselves’. The younger generation feel like our leaders are the duty bearers and are supposed to be handling the needs of our communities.”
Ali noted that people believed aid money does not reach the right causes or people. “There’s all this money going into the development sector, but they’re not really seeing major changes on the ground,” she said. “The younger generation is very politically active and more savvy. They are pushing back and trying to hold their leaders accountable.”
African role models
Ali said young people are looking towards African role models, exemplified by the popularity of Burkina Faso's military leader, Ibrahim Traoré, who portrays himself as a pan-Africanist figure leading his nation out of western imperialism and neocolonialism. “He is one of the more popular leaders across the entire continent of Africa,” said Ali. “There are matatus (minibus taxis) that have his name on in Nairobi, Kenya. The youth see that he is turning around a very poor country and that he really cares about his people. That further motivates young people to protest and say, ‘We don’t need aid, we have enough resources in our country and we need our leaders to behave differently.’”
Hibak Kalfan, executive director of Near, said the shuttering of USAID led to closures of initiatives and organisations but also created an opportunity to reconsider resources and sustainability. “It has put a real light on the fact that [organisations] have been highly dependent on bilateral external funding for years, and the future of aid will depend on a diversity of resources,” she said.
