Reasons at aid organizations: The shock behind the US aid stop!

Reasons at aid organizations: The shock behind the US aid stop!

Washington, USA - Washington, 07.02.2025 - The Catholic development organization Catholic Relief Services (CRS) faces enormous challenges. Due to a drastic cut in the US aid budget, ordered by the Trump administration, CRS plans massive personnel cuts that could affect up to 50 percent of the employees. This emerges from an internal email from the CRS managing director Sean Callahan. The Catholic Relief Service, which reaches more than 200 million people in 121 countries annually, fears that it will be significantly smaller at the end of the financial year. Leastings have already started, and the organization has to be concluded with programs that are financed by means of the USA agency (USAI), such as NCR Online reported.

A direct trigger for these massive cuts is a decree by President Trump, which exposes almost all US foreign aids for 90 days. A spokesman for the Foreign Ministry justified this decision with the statement that the United States would no longer distribute money without “equivalent for the American people”. CRS receives about half of its budget from USAID, which is a decisive basis for the aid work. Callahan pointed out that the cuts will affect all of CRS and the possibility of closing the financial gaps, while the organization has already received the first project date, such as kathpress reported.

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