However, officials from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), aid groups, and health workers in Africa, Asia, Europe and the United States told Reuters they were unclear what the waiver meant for their work or if it was in effect a full reversal of previous orders telling them to stop work immediately.

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.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio backtracked on Trump’s near-total foreign aid freeze and approved potentially billions of dollars in “life-saving humanitarian assistance.” Many aid groups are still unsure what that means.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a waiver on Tuesday for life-saving humanitarian assistance during a 90-day pause in foreign aid while Washington undertakes a review, according to a State Department memo seen by Reuters.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has backpedalled on the near-total freeze of US foreign aid, stating that ‘life-saving humanitarian assistance’ would be continued during the 90-day review period. There is widespread uncertainty about which programmes fall under the new waiver among global and South African health organisations.