The recent closure of USAID marks a pivotal moment in global development. For over six decades, USAID was a major funder of health, agriculture, education, and nutrition programmes across developing countries. Its sudden exit leaves many nations facing a difficult question: can systems built on foreign aid survive without it?

This question is urgent in the fight against malnutrition, a silent crisis that stunts growth, undermines education, and weakens economies more so in developing countries. According to the African Development Bank, over 200 million children in Africa suffer from chronic undernutrition.

In India, nearly 35 per cent of children under five are stunted, highlighting that malnutrition is a widespread challenge beyond any one region. Malnutrition is more than hunger. It contributes to nearly half of child deaths and reduces national productivity by up to 11 per cent. USAID-funded programmes, including school feeding and maternal nutrition, have long been lifelines. Now, with those supports ending, countries must urgently find alternatives. One powerful solution revealed by USAID’s exit is the strength of hyperlocal approaches grounded in local knowledge, culture and trust.

In Uganda, church groups and women’s savings collectives run community kitchens where expectant mothers learn to prepare nutritious meals from local grains and vegetables. In northern Nigeria, entrepreneurs produce fortified cassava and maize flours that improve school meals and create local jobs. In western Kenya, women-led groups use affordable tools like SoyaKits to process locally grown soya beans into fortified porridge, milk, and snacks.

These products feed children and families suffering from protein-energy malnutrition and generate income through small businesses. This approach is not limited to Africa. In Bangladesh, families grow nutrient-rich vegetables and raise poultry in backyard gardens, improving household nutrition selling surplus to their communities. These hyperlocal programmes succeed because they are trusted, culturally relevant, and sustainable. Advice from local health workers with lived experience and familiar foods resonate far more than “expert advice” from foreign directives.

The end of USAID should not be seen only as a setback but as an opportunity to shift development from donor dependency toward local empowerment. Hyperlocal approaches are already proving effective, cost-efficient, and resilient. Malnutrition remains a public health emergency. It weakens immune systems, increases maternal and child mortality, and burdens healthcare systems.

Governments, civil society, and private sectors must recognise nutrition as foundational and invest in grassroots initiatives already making a difference. The tools and knowledge exist. What is needed now is political will and sustained support to let communities lead and thrive.

While foreign donors have played a vital role, the solution to malnutrition ultimately depends on the success of initiatives and leadership emerging from local communities themselves. This is not a new concept—many development partners have called it ‘country-owned, country-led.’

In USAID language, it was known as the ‘Journey to Self-Reliance.’ That journey, for better or worse, has ended. Now, self-reliance must begin.

-The writer is a public health management specialist. [email protected]