February 24, 2025

Defunding equality: How the US betrayed LGBT+ communities worldwide

topic:	LGBT Rights
tags:	#Trump 2.0, #HIV/AIDS, #trans rights
located:	Peru, Colombia, USA, Uganda, Sudan
by:	Matt Beard

Just two weeks ago, the director of a Ugandan LGBT+ crisis center watched helplessly as their last reserves ran out following the US aid freeze. With no emergency funding in sight, they were forced to turn away desperate individuals seeking shelter from life-threatening violence.

In Peru, a trans women’s shelter that provided food, medical care and legal support shut its doors overnight, leaving residents with nowhere to go. In Côte d’Ivoire, a life-saving HIV prevention programme collapsed, putting thousands at immediate risk. These are just a handful of the stories we heard in All Out's global partner survey, a rapid assessment of the damage being done by the Trump regime's reckless and cruel decision to freeze all US foreign aid.

The Disastrous Ripple Effect of US Policy

The US action stems from Trump’s Executive Order 14169, titled Reevaluating and Realigning United States Foreign Aid, which mandates a 90-day pause on all US foreign development assistance programmes. The order claims that the US foreign aid system is "not aligned with American interests and in many cases antithetical to American values."

But what values does the United States government truly believe in when a policy decision leaves thousands of marginalised people without shelter, healthcare or even a chance at survival? The aid freeze has not safeguarded American interests - it has simply endangered the lives of some of the world’s most vulnerable communities.

For years, the US has played a critical role in supporting LGBT+ organisations worldwide, bridging the financial and political void left by foreign governments that fail to safeguard the rights of their LGBT+ citizens. But in one stroke of a pen, that support has disappeared. The results have been catastrophic.

According to the Global Philanthropy Project, the total amount of LGBT+ aid likely to be cut by the US and the Netherlands alone is estimated at $105 million - one in every four dollars of government funding for LGBT+ causes worldwide.

The impact is immediate and devastating: our partner survey reveals that 75 per cent are reporting increased risks to life, health or safety of community members as a direct result of the aid freeze. More than two-thirds have already had to shut down programmes or lay off staff. Nearly a third are on the brink of closure.

The consequences are particularly dire in places where LGBT+ people already face criminalisation, violence and social exclusion. Shelters for LGBT+ refugees and survivors of homophobic and transphobic violence have been shuttered across multiple countries.

One of our Ukrainian partners shared, "Many LGBT+ individuals are now without a safe place to go, and we are seeing an increase in homelessness and violence."

In Sudan, activists who provided emergency aid to LGBT+ people fleeing war and persecution are now unable to help. In Colombia, a programme offering economic inclusion solutions for trans migrant women has had to close, forcing many into dangerous and exploitative conditions just to meet their basic needs.

A Moral Imperative to Act

The Trump regime justified the aid freeze as a 90-day review of spending priorities. But for LGBT+ people on the frontlines, 90 days without funding can be a death sentence. And while Trump's spokespeople have tried to dismiss the freeze as temporary, organisations have already begun receiving termination notices.

The intent is clear: this is part of a broader rollback of human rights commitments. And the vacuum left by US disengagement is already being filled by authoritarian regimes that weaponise homophobia and transphobia for political gain.

But while the US government is abandoning its commitments, the rest of the world cannot afford to do the same. Governments that claim to champion LGBT+ rights must now step up at pace to fill the funding gap. Private donors, including corporations that have long benefited from rainbow capitalism, must also act.

For years, LGBT+ activists have built movements on shoestring budgets, navigating impossible conditions with resilience and determination. But resilience is not a funding model and our communities deserve better. If we do nothing, decades of progress could unravel in months. And make no mistake: more lives will be lost.

Governments, philanthropists and the broader international community must act now. This is not just a political decision - it is a moral one. The brave partners we spoke to in our survey are running out of options. The question is whether the world will stand with them - or turn away as they are left to suffer and die.

Matt Beard is the Executive Director of AllOut.

Image by delfi.