Former USAID Employees Launch Platform to Save Critical Global Health Programs

The Shutdown of USAID and Its Impact

• 📉 The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) was shut down, leading to the cancellation of over 80% of its programs.
• ⚠️ This shutdown has had severe consequences, with advocates warning of increased instability, hunger, and death globally.
• 💔 The most immediate impact is seen in humanitarian settings, where essential health and nutrition services are not reaching children in need.

Project Resource Optimization: A Lifeline for Critical Programs

• 💡 Two former USAID employees, Caitlin Tulloch and Rob Rosenbaum, founded a website called Project Resource Optimization.
• 🎯 The platform's goal is to match private donors with threatened USAID programs to keep them operational.
• ✅ So far, they have successfully kept nearly 80 projects running in approximately 30 countries.

Criteria for Program Selection

• 🆘 The founders had to perform a difficult triage to identify the most critical programs, primarily from humanitarian portfolios.
• 💉 Key programs include immunizations for children under five and efforts to keep global infectious diseases low.
• 🍎 Another critical area is the treatment of children facing acute malnutrition and starvation, where supply chains for vital food aid were disrupted.

Restoring Programs and Future Outlook

• 🔍 The platform uses a rapid triage approach to identify programs delivering the most impact per dollar spent in saving lives, based on existing evidence and research.
• 💰 They actively seek private capital and philanthropy to fund these essential programs.
• 🚀 While initial funding was challenging, more donors have stepped forward, recognizing the importance of these initiatives.
• 🗓️ The focus for the next year is on designing programs for maximum impact and streamlining operations with existing partners, rather than expecting a return of government funding in the immediate future.