New Zealand aid money for an agriculture initiative in Africa should not have been given because of an association with Hillary Clinton, the Taxpayers’ Union says.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Mfat), through the NZ Aid Programme, has provided a total of $7.7 million to an aid programme run by the Clinton Health Access Initiative, and designed to strengthen agricultural production in Rwanda and Ethiopia and reduce childhood malnutrition.

Further annual support of $2.5m and $3m is budgeted if results are favourable, and the programme is going well so far, Mfat says.

The Clinton Health Access Initiative has been a separate organisation from the Clinton Foundation since 2010.

However, Jordan Williams, executive director of the Taxpayers’ Union, said recent controversy over the Clinton Foundation meant the aid money was not a good look and “risks even more damage to New Zealand’s ability to wield any influence in the US”.

“This money comes from the NZ Aid budget which should be going to programmes which are the most effective at helping the world’s poor - not sidetracked into political objectives.”

The Clinton Foundation was established by Bill Clinton in 2001 and was at the centre of controversy during the recent presidential campaign over the issue of a potential conflict of interest between it and the state department, where Hillary Clinton was secretary from 2009 to 2013.

President-elect Donald Trump and other critics of Clinton called for action over “pay for play” allegations. AP published an investigation showing more than half of people outside the government who met with Clinton while she was secretary of state gave money to the Clinton Foundation.

WikiLeaks release of emails during the campaign put focus on the foundation’s activities. US intelligence agencies have since identified individuals with connections to the Russian government who provided WikiLeaks with thousands of hacked emails from the Democratic National Committee and others.