The impact of the U.S. funding freeze on refugees, organizations, and vulnerable communities in Uganda

In January 2025, the United States Government issued an executive order that abruptly halted funding for multiple humanitarian programs worldwide. The order included a 90-day pause on foreign development assistance, affecting programs funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). In response, the State Department's Office of Foreign Assistance mandated an immediate stop-work order on grants and contracts.

Among the hardest-hit AVSI projects was the Graduating to Resilience Scale Activity, a $15 million initiative set to run from 2024 to 2027 in northern Uganda’s Lamwo District, in the host community and the Palabek Refugee Settlement. The program assisted 11,600 households - equivalent to 58,000 individuals - helping them transition from extreme poverty to self-reliance.

Dorris Ange Hope is 19 years old and already carries the weight of an entire household. She is the mother of two young children and the sole caregiver of her three younger siblings. The Graduating to Resilience Activity offered her hope to rebuild her life, support her family, and break the cycle of poverty. That hope has now dimmed.

“I am broken,” Dorris whispered, her voice cracking as she held her eight-month-old son close, tears streaming down her face.

This is one of the stories of a sudden dimming hope. She lives in Ogili Sub-county in Lamwo, a northern Uganda District which borders South Sudan and is home to approximately 89,000 refugees – mostly from South Sudan.

When Dorris was 14, she and her siblings were orphaned and taken in by their uncle. Unfortunately, instead of finding protection, they faced mistreatment. By the age of 17, Dorris became pregnant and decided to move in with the child's father. Wanting to create a stable home, she brought her siblings with her to escape their abusive living situation. Her hopes were short-lived when her partner left, unwilling to bear the burden of supporting seven people. Dorris now struggles to feed and shelter her family.

“My children and siblings are everything,” she says. “Even when we go for days without food, we try to stick together.”

Before the funding freeze, Dorris had planned to use the support from the program to start a retail farm produce business, leveraging the high demand for food in the region. Now, with the program halted, she finds herself staring at an uncertain future, clinging to the hope that one day, these livelihood projects will be reinstated for people like herself, in desperate need of food, shelter, healthcare, and education to survive.

For Filda Adokorach, also a refugee in the Palabek Refugee Settlement, the event meant choosing between feeding her children and keeping them in school. A mother of four and caretaker to her sister’s two orphaned sons, she was hopeful that the cash grants from the program would allow her to invest in livestock - a reliable asset in rural Uganda. She had even started planning to rent farmland to cultivate high-yielding millet, cassava, and beans. But with the funding cut, those dreams were rolling down a deep well.

“My children’s school fees are overdue. I may have to keep them home next term”. Five of the six children in her care attend schools in different locations, three miles away on foot. This is a logistical and financial challenge that has now become insurmountable.

Filda’s farming efforts have also been devastated. Her small plot of sorghum was overrun by weeds, leaving her with a flimsy harvest. Her only remaining asset is a single goat. Without external support, her ability to sustain her family slips away.

Close to 20 miles away, in another village called Ogili, Judith, Genesis and Benedict dread not being able to return to school. They all await their mother’s plan to succeed and hope to join their friends in school again. Their mother, Beatrice Aloyo, hoped to utilize the program's lessons to support her children's education and improve their hygiene. “It isn’t just about school, but about everything in life for us to survive. We struggle with diarrhea and fevers due to poor sanitation.”

Since the funds freeze, Beatrice resorted to working in people’s gardens, a life she thought she had abandoned for the skills and trades she had prepared herself for in the Gradating to Resilience Program.

Santa juggles motherhood and entrepreneurship, running a small snack business to support nine children, only three of whom are her biological offspring. She earns UGX 7,000 (about $1.80) each day, which is barely enough to cover their basic needs. She hopes that the financial literacy training and grants will help her expand her business, allowing her to provide nutritious meals for her children.

The twenty-six-year-old’s goal was simple: to secure better schooling for all the children in her care, to improve their household nutrition, and improve her daily earning by expanding her trade; but it isn’t working out anymore.

The funding freeze affects more than just individual households. Bosco Okot, a South Sudanese who was formerly a community worker in the USAID Graduating to Resilience Program, is among the 200 workers who have suddenly lost their jobs. Having dedicated five years to AVSI’s humanitarian initiatives, he had plans to start vending groceries in the Palabek Refugee Settlement. With his January paycheck, he managed to purchase a solar-powered refrigerator –the only asset in his now-abandoned shop.

“I cannot stock this shop anymore. I have ten dependents in my care and I cannot say how we will live.” Many of his colleagues face similar struggles, with some being forced to leave the refugee settlement in search of work in the nearby town.

The economic and social impact of the funding freeze is immense. Tom Sausi, the Community Services Officer at the Office of the Prime Minister in Palabek, describes the situation as dire.

Partners such as the AVSI Foundation, Lutheran World Federation, and the International Rescue Committee have been affected, causing essential services like food security, nutrition, and protection programs to become invisible. Malnutrition rates, which were already critical, are increasing, and the refugee settlement continues to receive new arrivals who are in urgent need of support.

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The USAID Graduating to Resilience Scale Activity was more than just another humanitarian program; it was a transformative initiative aimed at lifting thousands out of extreme poverty. However, the sudden funding cut has left countless families in a vulnerable position, with shattered dreams and uncertain futures.

For now, those affected have no choice but to adapt. As Santa Agnwech, a struggling entrepreneur, expresses, "I only need a chance to build something that lasts, something that feeds my children and gives them a future."

The people left in limbo, facing despair, refuse to give up. Although they have lost this chance to begin their lives anew in a foreign country, they promise to remain determined and supportive of one another, along with their children. Together, they will keep pushing forward, even in the most desperate circumstances.

Many individuals affected by challenging circumstances, like Dorris, are choosing to persevere, holding onto the hope that the world has not forgotten them. The resilience of these communities is evident, but resilience alone cannot replace lost livelihoods, education, and security. In fact, it is access to these basic necessities that helps individuals and households develop into more resilient families, contributing to the strength of humanity as a whole.

The USAID Graduating to Resilience Scale program was designed to empower individuals and create lasting change in communities in greatest need of assistance, rather than just providing temporary relief. Unfortunately, the abrupt halt of funding has undermined this progress; however, the spirit of those it was intended to serve remains strong and unbroken.