Hundreds of Namibian workers are facing an uncertain future after United States (US) president Donald Trump cut funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
According to US government databases, Namibia received about N$737 million towards HIV-AIDS relief in 2024, while non-profit organisation IntraHealth reportedly received over N$165 million last year.
These funds have now abruptly dried up, as USAID has stopped funding to non-governmental organisations (NGOs) across the globe, including some in Namibia.
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This has left hundreds of Namibian employees facing an uncertain future, with some NGOs sending employees home.
Minister of health and social services Kalumbi Shangula says most NGOs will feel the pinch of Trump's executive order.
"There are activities being carried out by NGOs in the field of advocacy, in the field of care, which are directly funded through the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (Pepfar) or the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV-AIDS (Unaids).
"Those will be impacted, but as for the treatment programmes, they will not be impacted, because there is no contribution to that," he says.
When visiting IntraHealth yesterday, The Namibian found its offices closed.
According to an office worker at a nearby company, the office had been vacant for at least a week.
A former IntraHealth employee, who preferred to remain anonymous, yesterday said: "All of the work has been stopped. We are now just waiting for the United States to make a final decision."
Meanwhile, an employee at Jhpiego Namibia, an organisation leading the implementation of projects assuring that people, especially women, are able to protect themselves against HIV-AIDS, said he was not allowed to talk to the media.
'CAME OUT OF NOWHERE'
Omar van Reenen, a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, intersex and other (LGBTQI+) community activist and co-founder of Out Namibia, has posted about the situation on social media.
"About to lose the first job I've ever had after graduate school. I was supposed to help my family out, pay off my school debt and save up for my PhD.
"The way it was done was so sudden. We felt like it came out of nowhere," they wrote.
According to Reuters, Trump plans to keep fewer than 300 USAID employees out of the over 10 000 globally.
Only 12 staff members would remain in the bureau responsible for Africa.
USAID was previously distributed to 120 countries for initiatives such as feeding war refugees in Sudan, conservation, and HIV prevention efforts in Namibia.
"It's been run by a bunch of radical lunatics. And we're getting them out," Trump said to reporters about USAID on 2 February.
On 3 February Elon Musk announced that Trump agreed that USAID needs to be shut down, while staffers of the agency were instructed to stay home.
USAID staffers said they also tracked more than 600 employees who reported being locked out of the agency's computer systems overnight.
When checked, it appeared that all USAID websites had gone offline. Trump's stated goal for this order is to examine each initiative to ensure they are fully aligned with his 'America First' policy.
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This after he withdrew the US from the World Health Organisation, arguing that overseas spending had to be restrained.
The move has not been popular with all Americans.
US senator Chris van Hollen of Maryland reportedly referred to it as an "illegal power grab" and the "corrupt abuse of power".
"It's not only a gift to our adversaries, but trying to shut down the Agency for International Development by executive order is plain illegal," he said.
Democrats suggested that court challenges were already underway and they would try to block Trump's state department nominees until the block was reversed.
However, since they are currently in the minority, the amount of leverage they have is in question.
