Additional Context: This quote is attributed to Paul Ochieng, who most recently delivered care under a USAID-funded PEPFAR program for orphans and vulnerable children. In early 2025, abrupt and sweeping U.S. foreign assistance cuts left community health workers — and the children they serve — in limbo. He has received sporadic, unpredictable payments from the government, far less than the regular stipend he relied on under PEPFAR. Still, Ochieng heads out each morning to stay connected to the 50 children assigned to him under the now-defunct program, determined not to let the disruption sever the relationships he has built.

This quote was collected as part of The Aid Report’s original reporting, “‘I can’t just leave them’: Kenya’s health workers carry on without pay.” The feature story examined how nearly a year after the US cut much of its health funding to Kenya, unpaid community health workers still underpin HIV and mental health care.

Source: Devex