NORTH KINGSTOWN – The Rhode Island humanitarian aid organization that was forced to halt production of lifesaving specialized foods for malnourished children will finally receive funding again from the U.S. Agency for International Development after
weeks of chaotic uncertainty.
Elon Musk confirmed Sunday that Edesia Inc. is set to receive a payment this week, making it the first USAID payment for the nonprofit since November.
"The contract mentioned above with Edesia had already been restored last week and they should receive payment this coming week," Musk tweeted on X Sunday.
Edesia President Navyn Salem responded hours later on X to the head of the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, "
@elonmusk thank you for fixing this. Starving babies can't wait. The
@EdesiaNutrition team are eager to help the
@DOGE team in making American AID great again with the highest level of efficiency."
It was not immediately clear how much Edesia's upcoming USAID payment will be, how the funds will be used or when the next payment is scheduled. Representatives from Edesia did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
In May 2024, USAID announced it was allocating $200 million in federal funds for the nonprofit. Last year alone, USAID accounted for 85% of Edesia’s funding. But those payments stopped coming in November and he humanitarian aid organization hasn't received a dime from the government agency in upwards of four months.
The last few weeks in particular have seen Edesia endure a stop-work order for production and an inventory pileup amidst the uncertainty over its funding from USAID.
On Jan. 28, Edesia had to stop production of its flagship product, Plumpy’Nut – a peanut-based paste that has saved over 25 million lives in 65 countries – for several days after USAID issued a stop-work order for all of its contractors following President Donald Trump’s executive order freezing foreign aid.
Pallets of the product sat inside Edesia’s warehouses instead of going to malnourished children across the globe. The stop-work order was rescinded on Feb. 6 and deliveries resumed after a U.S. federal judge told the Trump administration to restore foreign aid funding that had been paused pending a 90-day review.
Salem said the company was "literally waiting by the telephones" last week as Edesia anticipated the long-awaited USAID payment.
The nonprofit, which was founded in 2010, is one of only two U.S. entities that makes ready-to-use therapeutic foods packs, the other being MANA Nutrition in Georgia. MANA's USAID contract was similarly restored on Sunday, as confirmed by CNN on Monday.
Matthew McNulty is a PBN staff writer. He can be reached at McNulty@PBN.com or on X at @MattMcNultyNYC.
