Statement from NP Executive Director, Tiffany Easthom, in response to the termination of United States foreign assistance
In response to the Trump administration terminating over 90 percent of US humanitarian and development funding, Tiffany Easthom, Nonviolent Peaceforce Executive Director, shared the following:
28 February 2025 — “The sudden and catastrophic cuts to essential humanitarian aid by the United States’ Trump administration is strategically and morally self-defeating, and is causing immediate, preventable harm to millions of people.
I find myself at a loss seeking words strong enough to express the impact of what is happening. At the center of it all, there are people who are in the middle of the worst days of their lives —families grabbing whatever they can carry and running for their lives because they are being shot at, a sick neighbor gasping for air who needs an oxygen tank, a teenager struggling to know what to do in the first hours after being sexually assaulted. And because of the actions of the US executive branch, the help that was in place—that could literally save lives and ease pain—is gone.
Due to the actions of the Trump administration, thousands of highly skilled professionals serving the world over can no longer prevent or be part of the collective response to global harms that humanity is facing, including pandemics and insecurity.
The abrupt collapse of the global humanitarian framework, catalysed by the dismantling of USAID, puts millions of lives at direct risk, and makes the world less safe, less resilient, and less humane. It erodes collective commitments to keeping each other safe, well, and free from harm.
Congress, representing US voters and taxpayers, passed laws to fund life-saving programs—cuts of this magnitude dismantle that critical work and threaten principles of separation of powers. It is urgent that Congress uphold its responsibilities, requiring the administration to follow the rule of law and uphold existing commitments supported and approved through congressional processes.”
Contact
- Advocacy: Megan Rodgers, Policy and Advocacy Manager in Programming, [email protected]
- Media: Claire Guinta, External Relations Manager, [email protected]
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