Recent cuts to U.S. foreign aid threaten decades of progress advancing the education, health, and economic opportunity of women, girls, and gender-nonconforming people around the world.
We reached out to our global network of Rise Up Leaders across Africa, South Asia, and Central America to understand how foreign assistance cuts are impacting their communities and learned about a devastating cascade of effects.
Rise Up Leaders told us about critical HIV treatment programs facing medication shortages, healthcare services that have been terminated, and public health facilities that now stand dangerously understaffed.
In South Africa, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis prevention and treatment programs have been halted. In Nigeria, services for vulnerable youth, sex workers, and people living with disabilities have been terminated abruptly, leaving entire communities without essential services. In India, programs focused on expanding girls’ access to education have lost funding and shut down.
In Honduras, where USAID previously funded nearly 90% of civil society organizations, many have been forced to shut down operations entirely.
“Since 2009, Rise Up has partnered with local leaders and their organizations to create transformative change across Honduras, working to build a more just and equitable society for women and adolescents. USAID’s recent funding pause is a historic setback that undermines critical progress, particularly for the women and girls we serve who are seeking safety and justice. This is a heartbreaking moment for those who have worked tirelessly for a better country.”
– Emérita Valdez, Rise Up Country-Based Leader, Honduras
We stand firmly with Rise Up Leaders as they navigate these challenges and continue their important work to support their communities, even in the face of devastating financial obstacles.
