Families affected by the severe drought receive essential supplies from CBM and its partner OSHO, including maize, beans, and oil bottles at a distribution centre in Dire Woreda, Borena Zone, Ethiopia. © CBM

USAID funding cuts are a crisis we cannot ignore

USAID funding cuts are creating a global humanitarian crisis, affecting over 120 million people. As vital programs in Sudan, Ukraine, and beyond face disruption, the call for immediate action is louder than ever. Learn how these cuts are reversing decades of progress and what can be done to support those in need.

Picture a dry field with the skeleton of a dead animal in the foreground. © CBM
Kura from Ethiopia, blind in both eyes, walks across the cracked land of Madhacho Kebele, guided by her mother. Drought has drained rivers and wells, leaving families like theirs to face hunger and thirst.

The sudden suspension of nearly all funding for development cooperation and humanitarian aid by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is having severe global repercussions.

At least 120 million people across more than 100 countries are directly affected by the halt in funding, which accounted for 42 per cent of global humanitarian financing last year.

In Sudan, community kitchens that were providing food to hundreds of thousands in war zones have been forced to close. In Ukraine, where winter temperatures can be extreme, frontline communities are left without firewood.

Other critical humanitarian programs face immediate disruption, particularly in Sudan, Syria, Gaza, and Ukraine. The African health authority, CDC Africa, estimates that setbacks in healthcare due to funding cuts could result in two to four million deaths.

The impact is also being felt in long-term development efforts. Programs in education, poverty reduction, food security, and democracy promotion are at risk, reversing decades of progress.

VENRO, the umbrella organisation of development and humanitarian non-governmental organisations in Germany, warns of significant consequences for the global humanitarian system.

Michael Herbst, Chairman of the Board of VENRO and Head of political work at CBM, stresses the urgency of the situation:

“An entire system that ensures the survival of people in crisis and disaster regions is coming to a standstill.”

 

An entire system that ensures the survival of people in crisis and disaster regions is coming to a standstill.

Michael Herbst, Chairman of the Board of VENRO and Head of political work at CBM

VENRO and other international aid organizations are urging immediate action to mitigate the damage.

Specific projects have already been derailed, including a food security initiative in Zimbabwe meant to support over 74,000 people and a program to combat the sexual exploitation of children in Romania. An HIV project in Nairobi is also among those directly impacted by the loss of American funding.

The call for action extends to the German government. VENRO is advocating for special funds to support humanitarian aid and crisis response, as well as the formation of a European alliance to address the shortfall.

“We should see this development as a wake-up call to ensure sustainable development cooperation in the future and guarantee the protection of millions of people affected by wars and crises. Germany can and should play a leading role in this effort,” said Herbst.

With USAID’s withdrawal creating a major funding gap, donor nations must respond swiftly to prevent further humanitarian disasters.