WASHINGTON (Reuters) – An international non-governmental organization has placed a full-page advertisement in Sunday’s New York Times calling on Americans to provide donations to support hundreds of millions of people in need after drastic cuts in U.S. foreign aid.
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) said the advertisement was sponsored by a private donor and it urged the American public to “meet the moment” following the announcement of a 90% cut in U.S. foreign and humanitarian aid.
“The IRC aims to highlight the severe consequences of these cuts,” it said in a statement.
It said that in the past week, 46 of the IRC’s government grants had received notices of termination, which meant at least 2 million people would not have access to critical services across multiple crisis zones, including Sudan, Nigeria and Afghanistan.
“The IRC is calling on the American public to support our efforts to mitigate the impact of these cuts for people in critical need around the world,” the advertisement said. It requested donations via donor-advised funds, stock accounts, foundations, checks or credit cards.
U.S.-funded health projects around the world, including those providing lifesaving care, received termination notices from Washington on Thursday as President Donald Trump’s administration neared completion of a review to ensure grants are aligned with its “America First” policy.
A U.S. State Department spokesperson said last week that the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) had evaluated 6,200 multi-year awards and had decided to eliminate nearly 5,800 of them, worth $54 billion in value, a 92% reduction.
The administration also cut nearly 30% of the State Department foreign aid-related grants totaling $4.4 billion.
“Children will suffer, as food from hardworking American farmers sits idle in warehouses,” the IRC advertisement said. “Preventable tragedies, like deaths from treatable diseases, will occur daily. This is a humanitarian catastrophe – a matter of life and death for people already in crisis.”
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has dismissed concerns that Washington is ending foreign aid, saying waivers had been provided to life-saving aid.
(Reporting by David Brunnstrom; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
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