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But “it was quite quickly stopped”, she said, as part of USAID pulling out.
“It is the communities that are affected by violence, and in particular, the women that suffer abuse, the people that are affected directly by violence who struggle to see a light at the end of the tunnel,” O’Toole said. “I would feel more for them.”
ACFID believes the actual impact of the cuts to be greater than indicated by a survey, where less than half of its members responded.
The Trump administration’s funding cuts have resulted in a $400 million hit to Australian projects, according to ACFID. Source: SBS News
Australian-run programs in the Indo-Pacific region were hardest hit, with $113 million worth of funding lost in the Pacific, closely followed by $111 million in Southeast Asia.
The council found child-related programs, including those covering education, health, nutrition, and anti-child trafficking, were also significantly affected.
Child-related programs have been the most heavily impacted, according to figures.
The US government undertook a review during the initial 90-day pause to ensure only programs fully aligning with the president’s foreign policy were funded by USAID.
“There’s a lot of talk around peace from the administration. A desire to sign peace agreements to Nobel Prizes, but at the end of the day, peace starts in communities. It starts with people. It starts on the ground.”
