Ivory Coast is losing U.S. aid as al-Qaida and other extremist groups advance toward its northern border.
The Trump administration’s foreign aid cuts have halted a $20 million program aimed at countering extremism, leaving local communities vulnerable.
For years, U.S. funding supported job training, secured grazing lands, and established an early warning system for attacks in Kimbirila-Nord and other border villages.
The aid was a crucial response to rising violence in Mali and the broader Sahel region, where armed groups linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State have gained ground.
The cuts come at a critical moment, as extremism spreads from the Sahel into West Africa’s coastal states, including Ivory Coast, Benin, and Togo.
Experts warn that economic hardship and political marginalization fuel militant recruitment.
Local leaders fear abandonment. “What attracts young people to extremists is poverty and hunger,” said Yacouba Doumbia, chief of Kimbirila-Nord.
“The project came at the right time and allowed us to protect ourselves.”
The Global Fragility Act, signed in 2019, had designated northern Ivory Coast as a priority for U.S. prevention efforts.
A recent congressional report stressed the need to act before the security situation worsens.
However, a Trump-issued executive order in January froze foreign aid programs, arguing they were wasteful.
Without U.S. support, border communities face growing uncertainty.
A U.N. official, speaking anonymously, warned that without intervention, these areas could fall to extremists.
