A peacebuilding specialist in northern Kenya said of the U.S. aid cuts: “There was no adequate preparation in terms of withdrawal. No systems. It’s so abrupt that you could see panic within the NGO staff and the local communities.”

Date: 3/26

Region: Africa

Country: Kenya

Topic: Peacebuilding & Stabilization

Policy Lens: Moral Leadership

Entry Type: Field Observation

Additional Context: Devex journalist Ayenat Mersie looked into the impacts of U.S. aid cuts in Kenya one year after the initial funding freezes and terminations. According to her reporting, the secondary effects emerging from the abrupt reduction in U.S. funding have added to ongoing debt pressures, exposing strain in Kenya’s pastoralist economies and public health system.

This quote is attributed to Guyo Haro, an Isiolo-based governance and peacebuilding specialist who worked with USAID previously.

Source: Devex