Trump’s USAID cuts threaten women’s empowerment program championed by daughter Ivanka
President Trump and Elon Musk’s A US Agency for International Development that has tried to be interested in decades Millions of dollars in U.S. dollars are likely to be terminated, dedicated to women’s financial capacity worldwide, including programs advocated during the first semester of Mr. Trump’s daughter Ivanka.
Although Mr. Trump is almost reluctant to leave all workers in the agency for holidays Tied now Pause in the battle in the U.S. court Ordered by Secretary of State Marco Rubio At the end of January, the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development funded Keep in place.
Women’s Global Development and Prosperity Initiative aims to help 50 million women “realize their economic potential” in 2025, a question in key areas where the president’s daughter could find common ground when she called Republicans and Democrats.
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Lillian Achom is the project manager for Afchix, AFCHIX is the Technology Women’s Technology Network, part of the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Women’s Connect Challenge. In 2019, she was invited to meet with Ivanka Trump at the White House, who was then an adviser to her father and participated in the W-GDP announcement.
To launch with Ivanka Trump Write She said W-GDP’s Wall Street Journal is “the first time to coordinate the U.S. commitment to one of the most underrated resources in developing countries – women’s talent, ambition and genius.”
Achom is one of nine grantees invited to the White House, and President Trump signed a memorandum at the Oval Palace on February 7, 2019. Mr. Trump’s administration has pledged $50 million to W-GDP and will be allocated by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
On Monday, Achom told CBS News that despite the president’s support for the initiative, Ivanka “is the person who really cares about” saying the president’s daughter seems to really care about women’s development and empowerment.
“I can see that she really likes the story of our success, stories about how women influence the global community,” Achom said.
The first Trump administration later explain The program reached 12 million women in its first year. According to the USAID document provided by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to CBS News, the Biden administration continues its work on W-GDP under the Gender Rights and Equality Action Fund, which invests $300 million in direct resources in 2021 US$200 million indirect funding was conducted between the year and 2023.
Ivanka Trump did not immediately respond to a CBS news request regarding the program or the U.S. International Development cuts funds.
A State Department spokesperson asked about the W-GDP program and pointed out CBS News Rubio’s review of foreign aid programs to ensure they are effective and aligned with U.S. foreign policy under U.S. Agenda One. ”
The spokesman said the department is “wisely reviewing all exemptions submitted by various programs and personnel to keep the aid flowing, and they said the results will be “transparently communicated.”
one of the Focus The W-GDP program is a way for women to access technology that still lag behind men around the world. According to the White House documents at the time, 1.7 billion women in low- and middle-income countries did not have cell phones and were much less likely to use the mobile Internet.
Achom explained that due to the cost of the internet and equipment, rural communities in Africa do not have access to new and emerging technologies, and because of many, health care costs, education and food remain priorities.
In northern Uganda, the prevalence of HIV among women and children has historically been higher than that of other parts of the country USAID funding provided through the Aid Relief Program, Pepfarto enable the community to obtain an ongoing supply of antiretroviral drugs. Achom said this support was subject to restrictive fiscal restrictions by Uganda’s own government.
“USAID really treats people in the community like their friends,” she said. “Like their first friend, I should say, because they have visited them, they gave them a grant. , not only to support their medical facilities and medication use, but also to gain financial empowerment.”
Funding from USAID is also consistent and reliable, unlike some other programs, and closing agency-funded programs will not only affect women’s access to technology.
“The ability of the entire community to get out of poverty does slow down or compromise,” she told CBS News.
