The editor-in-chief of an East African radio station that laid off journalists and editors following U.S. aid cuts said: "There are many journalists who are now leaving the profession because they don’t see any future for their profession."
Date: 6/26
Region: Africa
Country: Sudan
Topic: Economy & Livelihoods, Governance & Rights
Policy Lens: Democracy & Governance
Entry Type: Field Observation
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. When USAID cuts took place and funding was certain not to arrive, the radio station was forced to lay off 16 journalists and three editors.
Source: Devex

