NGOs count cost of lost US funding

Jobs have been lost and organisations across South Africa and the continent are closing while others are barely surviving the financial crisis

- Lyse Comins

South Africa's non-profit organisations are still counting the costs of the cessation of US funding earlier this year, with financial shortfalls leading to healthcare job losses while critical HIV services and vaccine research have been heavily scaled back.

US President Donald Trump announced in January that he was cutting US Agency for International Development (USAid) funding which has for decades supported health, education and humanitarian programmes, globally.

According to official data, USAid disbursed $24.5 billion to organisations in the 2024 financial year.

Accountability Lab, a global network for transparency and open government, ran a survey of 266 organisations affected by the freeze from 1 to 18 May, and a third reported being "at imminent risk of closure", with African countries — Kenya, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and Ghana - the most affected.

"Nine of the top 10 most affected are African countries, with El Salvador rounding out the top 10. Others include South Africa, Cameroon, Senegal and the US," said Accountability Lab's global communications director Sheena Adams.

"Worryingly, 21% have only one month of financial resources remaining, while 24% report a three-month financial runway.

"In terms of job losses, almost 55% of respondents reported having furloughed or laid off staff, with a further 14% confirming that layoffs were under consideration.