Conflict tracking in Myanmar. Investigations of Chinese human trafficking. Refugee healthcare in Thailand. Strengthening independent media in Mongolia. Environmental conservation in Tibet. These are just a few of the Asia-focused programmes operating with US government funds that risk permanent closure after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order last week suspending all foreign aid,

President Donald Trump’s 90-day pause on nearly all U.S. foreign aid, in an executive order signed during his first week in office, has ground to a halt a sprawling apparatus that stretches to nearly all corners of the world and that provides assistance ranging from weapons of war to vital medicines.

Even as a federal judge temporarily pauses President Trump's order to freeze federal funding assistance, the State Department has already taken sweeping measures to halt foreign aid, sparking panic among international aid groups.