VOA Uzbek: Suspension of USAID felt in Uzbekistan, Central Asia

FILE - A USAID flag flutters outside as the USAID building sits closed to employees after a memo was issued freezing funding, in Washington, Feb. 3, 2025.

The suspension of USAID was felt in particular in Central Asia and Uzbekistan, especially in civil society, which is just beginning to recover. According to Farhod Tolipov, an Uzbek political scientist and head of the nongovernmental organization Knowledge Caravan, the closure of USAID will primarily cast a serious shadow on the U.S.'s global leadership.