The U.S. has long been a leader in humanitarian aid, contributing more than any other country and serving as a key funder for major UN agencies. This aid has saved millions of lives. Overnight, that has all stopped. Crucial funding has been suspended, leaving millions even more vulnerable.
The U.S. government's decision to pause foreign aid for 90 days has already had dire consequences. Millions of children from war-torn countries depend on this support for basic essentials, education and mental health support. All of this and more is now at risk.
This isn’t just a humanitarian crisis. Freezing this aid makes the world a more dangerous place: it will mean more wars, more misery and more people on the move. And it will indirectly impact nearly all of us. What happens now, could determine the futures of entire generations of children in some parts of the world. And it’s happening right under our noses.
Rob Williams, CEO of the War Child Alliance explains why:
“A 90 day suspension means there is a 90 day interruption of funds flowing to the organisation delivering it. NGOs and their local partners do not have sufficient cash reserves to cover this gap from their own resources. They are forced to cut their staff and stop their work. Food is not delivered. People starve.
“Even organisations who can bridge the cashflow gap have no certainty that the funding they rely on will eventually come back. There is a lot of confusion. The chaos and unpredictability mean local partners and even some large NGOs will be forced to close.”
The Solution: How We Can Act — Together
As the days go by, the US governments aid suspension looks increasingly like a collapse of the whole US Agency for International Development (USAID agency). This is going to leave some of the world’s most vulnerable children without the support they need to learn and heal and thrive.
War Child will be part of the solution.
We are ready to step in and hold the line for children. Together with our partners in 13 conflict affected countries, we will do what we can to keep children learning, provide mental health support, and continue delivering emergency aid in some of the scariest places to be a child.
Right now, we are helping our local partners to survive the financial challenges. The longer-term challenge will be to grow our impact in a sector which might be disrupted and under resourced.
We are mobilizing new funding sources, strengthening partnerships, and ensuring that children in conflict zones continue to receive education, protection, and mental health support - to create a future for every child affected by war.
Children in conflict zones are the most severely affected
For children in conflict zones foreign aid isn't a nice to have, it is crucial. Children living in incredibly fragile and dangerous regions shouldn't have to fight to survive – they have rights which need to be upheld.
Children in conflict zones — like Sudan, Gaza, Syria, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) — are now without education, protection, mental health support or safe spaces where they can just be a child again and get the help they need.
Overnight, 414,000 school children in Lebanon were shut out of school. These children were relying on US-funded programmes to deliver their education, since conflict and displacement forced them out of school. These children have now lost their only access to learning. This will have repercussions for an entire generation of children for years to come.
War Child have been instructed to halt some of our work in Syria and Uganda by the US Government due to the funding freeze.
This will directly impact children like Fatima - a Syrian refugee living in a displacement camp in Lebanon who couldn’t read or write when War Child first met her in one of our Child Friendly Spaces. Thanks to our education programme, Fatima is now a budding storyteller, ‘When I feel frustrated, I write a story – that’s how I let off steam’.
Our programmes change children’s lives, and they need to continue.
If you or your network can help—through connections, advocacy, or resources—please reach out.
