A radio station in East Africa covering Sudan laid off 16 local journalists and three editors following U.S. aid cuts.

Date: 6/26

Region: Africa

Country: Sudan

Topic: Economy & Livelihoods, Governance & Rights

Policy Lens: Democracy & Governance

Entry Type: Operational Impact

Additional Context: This information was collected as part of The Aid Report’s original reporting, “‘We lost their voices’: Sudan radio program falls silent after US aid cuts.” This feature story examines how U.S. aid cuts canceled a radio broadcast that had served Sudanese civilians both as a source of real-time safety information and as a channel to report missing persons, food, water, and shelter needs — intelligence that humanitarian responders relied on to direct assistance where it was most needed.

This information was provided by Peter, the editor-in-chief of Radio Tamazuj, who asked to go by a pseudonym for security reasons. The radio station had been supported since 2023 by USAID’s Office of Transition Initiatives covering shortwave broadcast support, monitoring and evaluation capacity, online presence, and fundraising. The latest grant provided the station $425,000 over six months and was expected to be renewed. Without U.S. support, shortwave broadcasts, which cost about $70,000 annually, could not be maintained.

Peter mentioned that these cuts have prompted many local journalists to leave the profession altogether, given the lack of alternative opportunities in a country where much of the media sector has collapsed.

Source: Devex