When the US moved to dismantle the US Agency for International Development (USAID) in January 2025, its impact reverberated across the globe.
For years, the US’s commitment to its global leadership was stewarded, in part, by its financial contributions to projects that were critical to fighting poverty and inequality. But the current administration’s so-called “America First” policies have turned their back on millions who benefitted from those contributions, leading to the systematic destruction of international assistance.
The foreign aid cuts most significantly affected marginalized groups, including individuals living with HIV, which LGBTQI+ people are disproportionately burdened by. About 41 million people currently live with the disease, with 1.2 million people acquiring HIV in 2025.
This decision, driven by anti-gender, anti-rights, and anti-trans ideology, marked the beginning of a global purge of support for those in need, and in particular LGBTQI+ people.
Since then, other governments have followed. The Netherlands scaled back support for LGBTQI+ rights through their missions, contributing to an estimated shortfall of 55% for embassy grants to local LGBTQI+ organizations. Switzerland slashed millions in funding for UN agencies, including UN AIDS. The UK’s £40 million pledge to support global LGBTQI+ rights feels at risk. All these policy decisions happen as private funding from corporations similarly contracts, leading to increased demand for our financial support.
Our Grassroots Mobilization Fund received 178 applications last year, a 305% increase from 2024. Our new Crisis Response Fund saw a similar demand with nearly 600 applications. In total, these two funds represented over CAD $18 million in requests. Unfortunately, we were only able to meet 6% of the organizational support requests we received.
Read more of our insights in our 2025 Annual Report: Understanding the State of Global LGBTQI+ Persecution.