By Ailsa Laxton, Director of Global Programmes
The Termination of USAID and Its Impact
Among the thousands of recently terminated USAID grants were those that formed part of the Children in Adversity programme, a key objective of which was supporting children around the world who are separated or at risk of separation from family care.
The scale of USAID’s investment into the global care reform movement over many years has been enormous, and no other donor has the scale of resources to replace what USAID previously contributed. While this funding was not without complexity nor imperfections, the global care reform agenda would not be where it is today without the hundreds of millions of dollars that have strengthened systems that protect children, trained the workforce, generated learning, and pushed this movement forward.
The Immediate Consequences
The initial pause, now termination, of these grants immediately put at risk the organisations who had been recipients of them and, ultimately, the children and families who had been served by the programmes those organisations ran. As a funder with the privilege of having resources to invest in the global care reform sector, we at Martin James Foundation moved quickly to support where we could. Drawing on our available funds, which are minuscule compared to what has been lost, we provided emergency support to eleven organisations previously funded by USAID ensuring that critical services could continue.
How We Responded
For our existing partners, this included: unrestricting project funds to be repurposed according to changing needs, adding no-cost extensions to existing grants to allow teams that were forced to lay off staff more time to complete activities, and allocating top up funding for organisations now unable to cover core costs.
We also allocated a fund for a network of organisations we had not worked with previously and asked them to identify how to split the money between themselves in order to support as many children and families as possible. We trusted that those closest to the children would know better than we would where the funds should be directed. As a result, direct services for 307 children and families in Cambodia have been able to continue for the immediate term and organisations have a little more time to respond to the abrupt end of their previous funding.
A Sector at Risk
As major donors scale back commitments worldwide, years of evidence of what works is being lost. This learning and research is a critical part of what is needed to influence change and progress. Additionally, thousands of highly trained, committed, experienced child protection professionals across the world are losing their jobs and potentially leaving the sector. The absence of funds in other sectors including school feeding programmes, health care, education, income generation, and many more will also exacerbate existing vulnerabilities for families and increase the risk of children entering orphanages. While much funding is being withdrawn, we applaud FCDO’s new commitment to care reform announced earlier this year, and hope this commitment remains strong despite the UK government’s broader cuts to the aid budget. But with such significant reductions in funding across the sector, how can we ensure that the progress that has been gaining momentum in recent years is not stalled or deprioritised?
The Need for Collaboration and Responsible Transitions
Clearly, not everything can continue, but who decides what remains? We fully support calls for increased strategic collaboration between those in the global care reform sector and beyond. We must reduce inefficiencies, reevaluate how to add value, and ensure the most effective use of remaining resources. This is not just about sustaining a few chosen initiatives. It is also about balancing critical momentum in the sector and ensuring the safe closure of programmes and orphanages. Without time to adjust, abrupt endings can be just as harmful as the funding loss itself. Children and families are depending on us to get this right.
Funders have a hugely important role to play. Now is the time to truly partner with and be guided by those we fund. We must shift grantmaking practices, accelerate efforts to make funding more flexible and trust-based, and commit to safe, responsible transitions that give communities the time and resources they need to adapt. Investing in knowledge exchange will also be critical to ensuring learning and innovation are not lost but instead shared and amplified.
A Call to Funders: Invest in Families
And now, more than ever, there is an urgency to ensure that the billions in generous donations contributed annually to orphanages by well-intentioned donors around the world seeking to support orphans and vulnerable children are shifted to support children in families. The power of individual donors, foundations, and other funders to contribute in ways that move us closer to this goal has never been more important.
We, at MJF, do not have all the answers. Like many, we are on a steep learning journey, adapting as we go. But what we do know is that inaction is not an option. Critical projects are at risk of closing. Families are at risk of being separated. How can we, collectively, prevent that?
- Are there funds we can release now to keep essential services running?
- Can we ease compliance requirements so organisations can respond to urgent needs rather than rigid grant criteria?
- Can we begin shifting resources and decision-making power to those closest to the children and families affected?
We must use the privilege and power we hold to bridge the gap, to act where we can, and to move funding in ways that support long-term change.
We also know we won’t get everything right. That’s why we invite feedback on our response and approach. If you are a funder also grappling with these questions, we would love to connect. Let’s share ideas, learn from each other, and find ways to respond together. If you are ready to be part of this, please reach out. We can introduce you to trusted organisations that urgently need support.
