AS the ripple effects of United States (US) President Donald Trump’s controversial aid cuts continue to negatively impact governmental and non-governmental organisations globally, the Development Research and Project Centre (dRPC) has announced an intervention to cushion the effects in Nigeria.
The Executive Director of dRPC, Judith-Ann Walker, said on Wednesday, April 30, during a press briefing in Abuja that the organisation’s Support Initiative (NSI) would support some of the affected non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the country.
“Things have never been this challenging for NGOs. Local groups do not have funding, they can’t access funding. In response to the conjunction, the funding gap that we have seen, the dRPC has taken it upon itself, not just to provide funding, seed funding to CSOs (Civil Society Organisations), but training and capacity building, which we have been doing for over 30 years. So with the initiative, the NSI, local NGOs can apply for a grant of up to five million naira to execute a project in three months,” Walker said.
Walker, who noted that the centre was offering support with funding from the Ford Foundation, encouraged women-led NGOs that are working in the field of prevention of gender-based violence, women’s economic empowerment, safe schools and initiatives for girls, social justice and a cluster of five areas identified to apply.
“The process of application, selection, and award is an objective one based on performance, past performance, based on filling the criteria that we have put out there. It’s on our website, it’s in the newspapers. We will use technical, objective criteria to make selections and to award NGOs the support so that they can continue to do the great work that they are doing. We are particularly interested in women-led NGOs” she added.
The ICIR reported in February that the Trump administration announced its preparation to dismantle the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and other funding aids to Africa and the rest of the world.
The announcement came amid a growing controversy around USAID, with two senior security officials, John Voorhees and his deputy, Brian McGill, placed on leave after refusing to grant Trump’s inspection team – the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), headed by Musk access to classified materials.
Development sector insiders said the move has forced many community-based initiatives to scale back operations or shut down entirely as a result of significant cuts or total suspension of US aid.
The Public Relations Officer of the Association of Women in Trade and Agriculture, Amah Yemi-Samuel, a participant at the dRPC briefing, said the funding cuts had made it increasingly difficult for her organisation to operate effectively.
“Because of less money, we had to stop or reduce some important programmes. For example, we’ve scaled down training programmes for farmers, reduced support for small businesses, and cut back on trade promotion activities. This has slowed down our work and affected the women who rely on our help the most,” Yemi-Samuel said.
She acknowledged that the dRPC’s planned grant would provide much-needed relief by offering emergency funding to organisations like hers, but noted that her NGO has already begun exploring alternative means to sustain its work.
“We are exploring new ways to raise funds, such as working with local businesses and community leaders who can support our work. We just started a garri processing centre, and these steps will help us continue our grassroots work even when foreign aid is less,” she added.
The ICIR reported how Trump signed executive orders on his inauguration day on Monday, January 20, reversing several policies of his predecessor, Joe Biden.
Some of the orders include pulling out the US from the World Health Organisation (WHO), the Paris Climate Agreement, ending birthright citizenship for children of illegal immigrants, and recognising only two genders – male and female.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues.