The former project manager of a U.S.-funded livelihoods and food assistance project in Cameroon said: “When we got the news in March 2025, everything was suspended. There was no way we could support the participants after the training. We were at the stage of disbursing the money for them to start their businesses.”
Date: 6/26
Region: Africa
Country: Cameroon
Topic: Economy & Livelihoods
Policy Lens: Economic & Trade Interests
Entry Type: Field Observation
Additional Context: This information was collected as part of The Aid Report’s original reporting, “In Cameroon, aid cuts deepen hardship as armed groups seek new recruits.” The story documents how the termination of a USAID-funded emergency response program left displaced families without food assistance, disrupted livelihood support, reduced income for small businesses, and contributed to worsening economic conditions in communities already strained by a decade of conflict.
The Anglophone Crisis Emergency Response program, or ACER, was a $10 million USAID-funded initiative that provided food assistance and livelihood support to people displaced by Cameroon’s decade-long separatist conflict. The program was terminated in March 2025 as the Trump administration moved to dismantle USAID and cancel thousands of foreign assistance programs.
This quote is attributed to Peter Nyuyse, former ACER project manager. According to Nyuyse, when the ACER program ended, business trainees were only weeks away from receiving the startup capital they had been promised.
Source: Devex