Additional Context: This information comes from a report produced by Inclusive Development Partners, or IDP, a research and technical assistance organization. Using a mixed-methods design under IRB approval from the University of Massachusetts Boston, the study triangulated a global survey of staff from 82 projects across 80 implementing organizations with key informant interviews and focus group discussions across eight countries where IDP had existing programs: Bangladesh, El Salvador, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Nepal, Nigeria, and Pakistan. Data collection took place between January and March 2026.

According to IDP, because organizations of persons with disabilities had been the visible face of USAID-funded programs in their communities, they bore the full weight of community anger when programs ended. The relational capital these organizations had spent years building was dismantled with the loss of the programs. The loss of legitimacy extended to government partners, with access to government offices diminishing directly as a result of project closure.

Source: Inclusive Development Partners