On January 20, 2025, the President of the United States issued the Executive Order “Reevaluating And Realigning United States Foreign Aid” mandating a 90-day freeze on US-funded projects while reviewing all existing commitments. The stop-work orders that followed have had an immediate and far-reaching effect on AVSI’s activities in many countries around the world.
What is the impact on AVSI?
In 2025, US funding already approved for AVSI amounted to 19 million euros (20 million USD), representing 17% of our overall budget. From one day to the next, the impact of this suspension has been immediate on the services provided to or planned for more than 675,000 beneficiaries, whose support we were asked to put on hold, as well as on the salaries of 700 staff members worldwide.
Stories like that of Rachel, who was rebuilding her life in Brazil with the support of our programs, and Florence, who had given new hope to her family through an integration program in Uganda, are clear examples of the devastating impact of the US Administration’s executive order.
Rachel is one of 15,000 people supported by the project over the past five years whose lives and aspirations have been disrupted by the January 20 executive order blocking U.S. government funding for international cooperation.
Rachel was receiving support through Welcomed through Work, a project run by AVSI with funding from the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM), aimed at Venezuelan migrants, refugees, and indigenous communities.
How we will act in the short term
In line with our identity, our priority is first and foremost to protect people - both beneficiaries and our staff - as much as possible.
We are working to identify which activities can continue under projects funded by other donors, including the European Union, bilateral donors, major private donors, and foundations. Unfortunately, major multilateral donors such as UNHCR, UNICEF, and UNDP have also been affected by the suspension of American funds.
AVSI is still awaiting further guidance from USAID and the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM). As of today, all personnel management plans and budget requests for the affected projects have been reviewed in order to develop a contingency plan and proceed on a case-by-case basis.
At the moment, we do not know yet which projects will be allowed to resume - or when.
We are taking every possible action to keep guaranteeing life-saving interventions and to minimize job losses as much as possible. By staying together and keeping our mission in mind, we will overcome this crisis together.
Among the countries supported by our Tents Campaign are Ecuador and Uganda, which have been severely hit by this funding freeze.
This is why your help and donations are especially meaningful in a time like this.
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