Solidar Suisse Asia programme halved; four projects closed.

USAID Funding Cuts: How a Programme Was Halved | Solidar Suisse

USAID Cuts: How a Programme Was Halved

Melanie Wirz 12. August 2026 · 0 comments

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With the abrupt halt to large parts of US development funding in 2025, projects around the world came to an end—including Solidar Suisse’s programmes in Asia. Within a short time, around half of the programme was lost. What followed were cuts whose effects are still being felt today.

When Washington issued its “stop-work order” in spring 2025 and announced the effective end of the US development agency USAID, Solidar Suisse was in the midst of ongoing negotiations: projects had been developed, partnerships established, and new contracts were ready to be signed. “We were literally sitting at the negotiating table with USAID; everything was ready,” recalls Anja Ibkendanz, Solidar Suisse’s Asia Programme Manager. “The person in charge in Washington even said: we have to get this through before the change of government on 6 January.” But that never happened.

The immediate impact of this abrupt halt became clear in the figures—and in the cuts to our work in Asia. Four projects had to be closed, and several positions within the team were eliminated. In 2025 alone, around CHF 1.5 million in funding was lost; a further CHF 1.2 million followed in 2026. The prospect of a second phase of the Global Labour Programme (GLP, see box) also disappeared. Two additional projects would have ended anyway, but the cuts in 2025 already meant that around half of the entire programme was lost. “These were drastic cuts,” says Anja Ibkendanz. “We could not simply put people out on the street from one day to the next and immediately reduce all activities to zero. That was completely unrealistic. It was utterly irresponsible on the part of the US government.”

What is GLP-POWER? The project “Platform for Organising by Workers for Empowerment and Recognition” (GLP-POWER) was funded under USAID’s Global Labor Program. Its aim was to empower marginalised workers in informal employment, enabling them to strengthen their bargaining power and gain better access to decent work and social protection—also in the face of increasingly restricted democratic space for action in the region.

The project focused on developing new forms of organising for workers in precarious employment. It sought to strengthen their capacity to act, foster regional solidarity, and raise the visibility of their concerns, while overcoming barriers in an often restrictive political environment.

A letter from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called for an immediate stop to work on projects co-financed by USAID. For many partner organisations, the decision came so unexpectedly that they initially did not believe it—even larger organisations. To this day, Solidar Suisse is negotiating outstanding amounts with several partners, as they continued to incur costs for completing project activities and retaining staff after the abrupt halt—costs that would originally have been covered by USAID. There was no response from Washington for a long time; it was only in June 2026 that USAID got back in touch through a new contact person. It remains unclear whether any funding will be reimbursed, or how much. Solidar Suisse and its project partners have at least requested reimbursement of costs incurred up to the end of May 2025, including the orderly completion of project activities and final reporting.

What these cuts mean on the ground can be seen, for example, in a collective of platform-economy drivers. They had formed a mutual-support group to which everyone contributed regularly; anyone who had an accident could receive support from the fund. It was a simple yet effective social-protection system, developed through organising work supported by the GLP-POWER project. “Not everything has disappeared, because people are organising themselves and can continue to sustain these structures,” says Anja Ibkendanz. “But it can no longer happen on the same scale, because the funding is no longer available for regular meetings with other mutual-support groups, or for publications that allow them to share their demands and experiences.”

Access to information on labour rights and social protection has also largely collapsed—previously provided through a dedicated app and platform, as well as in-person training. “The withdrawal happened far too early,” says Ibkendanz. Materials produced by a London-based project partner on new labour laws for the region’s so-called gig economy have likewise no longer been available. Those most affected are people without formal employment contracts. Unlike workers in traditional industries, they often have no trade-union representation, as national legislation in many Asian countries does not permit it.

The cuts hit workers in the informal sector particularly hard – especially those without any form of social protection.

No collapse – but lost potential

Despite everything, the work continues. Organising efforts remain in place, and other donors can still get involved – including in the critical nickel-mining sector in Indonesia, where Solidar Suisse informs workers on remote islands about their rights. “But it is regrettable that the union there can no longer achieve the same impact as before,” says Anja Ibkendanz. What is missing is the opportunity to build on what has already been achieved. This trend is not isolated: cuts to development funding are also being felt across Europe, including Switzerland, while more organisations are competing for fewer available resources. This also makes it harder to advance the much-called-for “localisation agenda”, under which local partner organisations should receive more funding directly and have greater decision-making power over how funds are used.

«In the past, we entered into multi-year agreements with partners. Today, because of the financial situation, we do not even know exactly what will be possible in 2027.»

Outlook: Less predictability, new priorities

The reduction in funding for international cooperation will also leave a lasting mark. “There is an enormous degree of uncertainty when it comes to planning,” says Ibkendanz. “In the past, we entered into multi-year agreements with partners. Today, because of the financial situation, we do not even know exactly what will be possible in 2027.” This uncertainty is also shaping the Asia Programme’s thematic direction. Decent work remains a central focus, but labour-rights-based approaches are coming under pressure. The programme is therefore pursuing a broader mix of interventions – for example, skills training and support for establishing micro-enterprises in the informal sector, as well as the protection of children and young people at risk of extreme exploitation in humanitarian crises.

At the same time, the political environment remains tense in many countries: civic space is shrinking, and freedom of expression is under pressure in many places. Yet these are precisely the areas where funding to push back is now lacking.

Melanie Wirz 12. August 2026