USAID Cuts May End the Dream of Non-Violent Future for LGBTQI+ People in Africa
President Trump’s decision to cease funding from United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to developing nations and to dismantle the agency itself will directly affect LGBTQI+ individuals who are significantly stigmatized in conservative, majority-Christian African societies. Trump’s decision will reverse years of hard work by NGOs that have worked to give LGBTQI+ members safe houses, HIV and AIDS anti-retroviral medications, and legal assistance for LGBTQI+ persons who have been jailed unjustly.
In Malawi, we interviewed 12 registered organization all of which were funded directly or subcontracted by USAID. It is NGOs that make the difference between whether people end up as victims of police violence for being trans or intersex, or the police help them seek justice if they are crime victims. We listened to the stories of over 150 LGBTQI+ individuals in Malawi who have benefitted from the NGOs services.
A key driver of change brought by NGOs in Malawi has been basic education about what gender and sexual orientation mean. This changed the treatment of LGBTQI+ persons by gatekeepers such as police, pastors, nurses and community leaders. Some LGBTQI+ persons now know which police officers to call in cases of emergency.
The progress in Malawi stands in contrast with another African country we studied, where NGOs helping LGBTQI+ persons were banished in the 2010s. Currently there is no functioning NGO ecosystem for LGBTQI+ persons there. The difference is striking – in Malawi’s largest city violence from authorities is now almost unknown whereas in the other country’s largest city, police and local security guards have continued to act violently toward LGBTQI+ persons due to the lack of education on the topic.
In Malawi, many police, pastors, nurses and community leaders have already undergone sensitization training about gender and sexual diversity using discussions, games and respectful listening by NGO staff. Regardless of their own opinions about non-conforming persons, these gatekeepers now treat LGBTQI+ persons as human beings and full citizens with rights. This is what USAID had been funding for nearly a decade: the only way that is proven to work when striving for more equal and fair societies. With Trump’s executive order blocking US aid, organizations in Malawi and everywhere now face enormous challenges to maintain their achievements in social justice.
See also other blog posts from the ACACIA Project:
12.2.2025: When Being LGBTQI+ is Illegal - The Worst Wardships Came from Police and Self-Styled Vigilante Gangs
