The Trump administration's decision to cut almost all U.S. foreign aid has left dozens of water and sanitation projects unfinished around the world, creating new dangers for some of the people they are intended to serve, Reuters has found.
The agency has identified 21 unfinished projects in 16 countries after speaking to 17 sources familiar with the infrastructure plans. Most of these projects have not been reported before.
After hundreds of millions of dollars in funding were cut off since January, workers have put down their shovels and left holes half-dug and construction materials unguarded, according to interviews with U.S. and local officials and internal documents seen by Reuters.
As a result, millions of people who had been promised clean drinking water and reliable sanitation by the United States have been left to fend for themselves.
Water towers intended for schools and health clinics in Mali have been abandoned, according to two U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.
In Nepal, construction on more than 100 drinking water systems has been halted, with plumbing materials and 6,500 bags of cement left in local communities.
According to the Himalayan water minister Pradeep Yadav the Himalayan state will use its own funds to complete the project.