What the destruction of USAID means in Ethiopia
A detailed case study of the impact in one real-life case
A nutrition worker from the Ethiopian Kale Heywet Church Humanitarian Aid and Development Commission with a malnourished child.
Four months have passed since US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio dismantled the US Agency for International Development. Trump and Rubio seem to believe that US taxpayers’ money should be spent only on Americans and do not see foreign humanitarian aid as a strategic priority, even when the sudden cutoff contributes to negative global attitudes toward the US.
(Some might claim that reducing the gaping US federal budget deficit was also a priority in Trump administration decisions, but that explanation is not credible when President Trump has endorsed a spending bill that would add to the deficit, including increased spending on immigration enforcement.)
In my April 16 post, I urged all of us to be more generous in our personal contributions to Christian organizations affected by the USAID funding cutoff. One of the recipients of my donations was the Ethiopian Kale Heywet Church Humanitarian Aid and Development Commission (EKHCDC). Samson Ogayse, the EKHCDC’s health and nutrition manager, graciously prepared this summary of how the disappearance of USAID funds has impacted its work.
Describe the programs you operate.
The EKHCDC has implemented two major projects across 9 districts in two regions of Ethiopia. These projects targeted two distinct vulnerable groups:
The first project focused on HIV-positive children and adults, as well as at-risk and exposed groups. It involved community-based testing, linkage to health facilities, follow-up care for unstable cases, cervical cancer screening, viral load monitoring, psychosocial and mental health support, pediatric HIV services, care and support for those exposed to or infected with HIV, and HIV and gender-based violence prevention training for adolescents. It also included household economic empowerment and education follow-up for children living with HIV.
The second project targeted vulnerable pregnant and lactating mothers, children under age five, and adolescent girls in six malnutrition-prone districts. This involved screening and referral for treatment of malnutrition cases, Vitamin A and deworming supplementation, behavior change communication and training, and the equipping of healthcare facilities and personnel to deliver sustainable nutrition services and address malnutrition.
These programs were almost entirely dependent on US government funding through USAID. While EKHCDC provided office space, mobilized volunteers, and contributed limited local resources; the core financial support came from USAID. EKHCDC was not prepared to fully sustain these programs independently when the funding ceased. Some initiatives have begun exploring strategic shifts toward internal resource mobilization, mobilizing resources through cost-recovery models and investment in similar programs, and considering social enterprise approaches in areas such as WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene) and climate-smart agriculture. However, these efforts face challenges due to the current global context, inflation, high internal displacement and security problems, and political instability.
What US money have you continued to receive?
Since the funding cutoff, the HIV program has received only limited disbursements, primarily to cover staff salaries. Whereas the initial monthly budget was approximately $38,000–$42,000, only $15,000–$17,000 per month has been released intermittently, creating disruption of activities, job uncertainty, and doubt as to our ability to maintain operations. These reduced funds are insufficient to support the more than 12,000 direct beneficiaries previously served.
How has your work been affected?
The HIV prevention care and treatment project has continued with a limited budget and in a context of uncertainty.
The community nutrition project has been completely shut down in all districts. This has resulted in:
Termination of 9 full-time staff and hundreds of community volunteers.
Disruption in the identification and treatment of new malnutrition cases.
The cessation of health awareness training and nutrition monitoring.
Limited readiness of primary healthcare facilities.
Severe impact on our maternal and child health system.
What efforts have you made to locate funds elsewhere?
We sought to continue the services with other partners, but no sustainable solutions have been found as yet. We have applied for funding from UNICEF, which could possibly enable us to reinitiate work in the targeted areas. Locating replacement funding is difficult as many similar organizations elsewhere are also affected by the cessation of US funding.
To what extent do you believe it is possible to sustain your work with indigenous funding sources?
Regrettably, we were late in developing alternative funding strategies. Recently, we have taken the following steps:
Developing and approving an internal resource mobilization manual, with involvement of denominational leadership and local church elders.
Initiating pilot projects in areas with a strong congregational presence (e.g., agriculture and WASH).
Initial experimentation with cost-recovery models, especially in WASH programs.
However, the current economic instability, combined with limited institutional and technical capacity, has restricted these efforts to a small scale and has slowed these efforts. For example, for WASH drilling operations, our machines are too old and can drill only shallow wells, the high cost of machine maintenance limits us, and our centers of operational excellence are not positioned to generate much resources in the economic market.
What else would you like to communicate to the US government and to global Christian leaders?
We respectfully appeal to Christians and US government leaders to show their solidarity and share love with needy communities.
In Ethiopia and around the world, countless lives depend on continued humanitarian assistance due to the presence of both natural and manmade disasters. The biblical call to stand with the vulnerable is clear. US support has historically transformed lives—saving children, restoring health, and empowering communities. The sudden withdrawal of that support risks reversing decades of progress and puts thousands of lives at risk. As Christians, we are called to give from what God has provided us.
Psalm 41:1–3 encourages and reminds us that if we support the needy, God will support us during our time of need: “Blessed are those who have regard for the weak; the Lord delivers them in times of trouble. … The Lord sustains them on their sickbed and restores them from their bed of illness.”
We urge our brothers and sisters in Christ—and our partners in the U.S. government—to continue standing with us in this critical mission.