USAID freeze hits American manufacturer of product that saves babies’ lives

When Navyn Salem received a letter Wednesday terminating the federal government’s contract with her Rhode Island company, Edesia, she halted its production line, which makes a life-saving paste for severely malnourished babies.

A day later she received an email, just a few short sentences, rescinding the contract’s termination.

The reversal failed to put her mind at ease.

“This is what our everyday looks like. The government is in a state of chaos,” Salem said. “And the way that we see that is 24 hours ago, we had a contract terminated, and 10 minutes ago [the termination] was rescinded.”

In the weeks since Elon Musk, an adviser to President Trump and the richest person in the world, began targeting the State Department agency USAID for closure, disruptions to the supply chain and services for a variety of global life-saving causes have faltered.

While Salem’s contract has remained active, except for most of Wednesday, she said the hollowing out of USAID — with nearly all of its staff suddenly placed on leave or outright fired — has caused growing disarray. Most pressing, she said, is that the USAID-operated payment system she relies on “has been down for weeks.”

That’s created unparalleled uncertainty that is spreading from her business of 150 employees to her American suppliers — farmers across 25 states — and the U.S. ocean liners she uses to ship hundreds of metric tons of Edesia’s Plumpy’Nut therapeutic paste, and finally, to the international organizations that distribute it to children staving off death.

“Everybody who is caught up in this time of chaos with massive uncertainty is worried. Everybody is,” Salem said.

Plumpy’Nut is classified as a ready-to-use therapeutic food, prescribed for the treatment of severe acute malnutrition in children as young as six months old. It’s a peanut-based paste that includes vitamins, minerals and F-100 milk powder, in accordance with World Health Organization guidelines. Edesia says it produces 800 metric tons of Plumpy’Nut and other foods used to treat malnutrition every week. 

Salem believes ultimately that her company’s goal of protecting children aligns with Trump administration priorities. “We have a strong belief that our mission will be protected, that these funds will be there, but I can’t promise that to anyone.”

Salem said she agrees that USAID could be operated more efficiently, and she has ideas from years of work with the agency. She faces the same dilemma, whether she wants to propose solutions or simply try to process payments. 

“Who should I call?” She asked. “I have been offering suggestions for years, and now is the time for someone to listen, if I can just find someone who will pick up the phone.”

A State Department spokesperson said Thursday that it had ended more than 90% of its USAID contracts, retaining only those that it believes make America stronger, safer and more prosperous. The agency’s cuts are part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to drastically shrink the federal workforce and budget.

Each packet of Plumpy’Nut produced by Edesia is printed with the phrase “from the American people” printed on it. Salem said the message to the desperate parents and caretakers of malnourished children is an important part of her company’s mission.

“They will never, ever forget that it was the American people who were there for them in their biggest time of crisis,” Salem said.

She and others who run organizations associated with USAID told CBS News another global superpower is poised to step in if the United States retreats from corners of the world where it provides support for crucial medical care: China.

“This is an incredibly strong use of soft power to deliver a food, a specialized food to people in their biggest time of need,” Salem said.