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‘Brutal truth’ of impact on Irish aid agencies from Donald Trump funding cuts laid bare as Ireland can’t fill cash gaps
@Source: thesun.ie
DONALD Trump’s funding cuts have had a devastating impact on Irish aid agencies, new documents show.
The move by Trump's administration in January has seen job losses, the suspension of overseas programmes and chaos about planned future ops.
Documents obtained under Freedom of Information paint a grim picture of the fallout, with Irish aid agencies now struggling to cope and left facing an uncertain future.
An executive order issued by the US President in -January froze all US foreign aid for 90 days, -triggering chaos for charities and NGOs.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), one of the largest foreign aid donors, has slashed tens of millions in funding to Irish organisations like Goal, Concern, Self Help Africa and Trocaire.
Goal previously took in €103 million annually from USAID, with Concern getting €58.3 million. Trocaire received €1.38 million, while Self Help Africa got €308,000.
But no Irish NGO has received US funding since the aid suspension.
Trump’s cuts have led to entire -programmes being axed, with Goal’s work in Turkey-Syria, 85 per cent funded by the US, among the hardest hit.
Concern’s work in Congo, Sudan, Pakistan, and Liberia has also suffered, affecting hundreds of thousands of people.
And Self Help Africa is set to pull out of three African countries by the end of the year as a result.
Goal admitted over 900 jobs, including 28 in Ireland, are at risk, while Concern has already let go of 400 staff, with more layoffs expected.
Irish Aid Director General Michael Gaffney warned in an email of the “brutal truth” that some NGOs may now go under.
He wrote: “Ireland will not be in a -position to fill gaps as a result of the cuts by others, and we will adhere to our policy priorities.
However, we will clearly need to review our partnerships as matters evolve, and make decisions on which ones we may need to prioritise.
“The brutal truth is that there is a real possibility that some of our funding partners will not survive this year.”
A pause of US foreign aid comes to an end today but with another review expected, aid agencies are now bracing for even more bad news.
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