Secretary of State Marco Rubio partially walked back a freeze on foreign assistance, saying the US would keep funding "life-saving" humanitarian aid.

US secretary of state Marco Rubio has ordered an immediate halt to work on virtually all existing foreign aid programmes pending a review into whether they are consistent with President Donald Trump’s policies, according to an internal cable seen by the Financial Times.

Health and humanitarian groups around the world were still uncertain on January 29 if and how they could resume work after the United States issued a waiver for “life-saving” assistance in President Donald Trump’s freeze on U.S. foreign aid.

In a follow-up memo after an outcry from aid groups, Rubio clarified that other “humanitarian assistance” besides food would also be exempt during the review period. Humanitarian assistance was defined as “core life-saving medicine, medical services, food, shelter and subsistence assistance”.

Exemptions include humanitarian assistance such as core life-saving medicine, medical services, food, shelter and subsistence assistance

Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered a pause Friday on "all new ... It also noted that emergency food assistance, "salaries and related administrative expenses, including travel for U.S. direct ...

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced exemptions in the freeze on foreign assistance, continuing funding for humanitarian items like shelter and medicine. President Trump had ordered a 90-day pause on assistance.

U.S. diplomats have neglected the Western Hemisphere for too long.

Despite a waiver by the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, many development assistance and cooperation programmes are on hold. The US wants to reassess funding to see if they are in line with the new Tr

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,

Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued the waiver on Tuesday night after aid groups worldwide warned that the blanket ban on foreign aid funding and activity for 90 days had put millions of lives at risk.

Those who support the freeze of US aid programmes, worth around $70bn per year, say they are vastly bloated, with Washington carrying too much of the weight compared to other Western nations. And they argue the government sends far too much money abroad that would be better spent on Americans at home.