An Afghan women-led legal research organization lost three U.S.-funded projects supporting women's leadership, youth economic empowerment, and child trafficking prevention, cutting off support to 16 women-led organizations and jeopardizing staff salaries and beneficiaries, most of them women and heads of households.
Date: 6/26
Region: Europe & Central Asia
Country: Afghanistan
Topic: Gender Equality & Inclusion, Governance & Rights
Policy Lens: Democracy & Governance
Entry Type: Operational Impact
Additional Context: The International Civil Society Action Network, or ICAN, leads the Women’s Alliance for Security Leadership, a network of 82 women-led peacebuilding organizations across 41 conflict- and crisis-affected countries. ICAN began collecting information on the impact U.S. aid cuts have had on partner organizations and related work in early 2025. Further communication was conducted to verify information as of June 2026
The Women and Children Legal Research Foundation (WCLRF) reported the termination of a $250,000 Women's Voice and Leadership project, which was in its third year of a five-year term and working with 16 women-led organizations. A $1,200,000 project under the Afghanistan Innovative Youth Action (AIYA) partnership with CARE Afghanistan — designed to build young women's capacity, provide micro-business support, and establish vocational institutes — had only recently begun. Two additional projects worth $180,000, implemented with Counterpart International on child trafficking, were also affected.