In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the abrupt withdrawal of USAID funds leaves thousands of displaced people in uncertainty. Our exclusive report with Jacinthe Maarifa explores the reasons for this sudden halt and the challenges of development aid.
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00:01The Democratic Republic of Congo, every day thousands flee violence, abandoning everything
00:06– their farms, their cattle and their lives.
00:10The recent impacts epidemic is the latest blow and the most vulnerable – the displaced
00:15were hit hardest.
00:17But just when help was most needed, it vanished.
00:20The US administration abruptly froze USAID funding, which provided 85% of Congo's emergency
00:27aid.
00:28The projects collapsed, lifelines disappeared.
00:31Yakinte Marifa, a young pan-Africanist from the Afrika Pali group, questions the sudden
00:37cut in USAID funds.
00:39His group is often threatened following its research and analyses.
00:43There was no tangible impact on the field – no good roads, schools or hospitals.
00:50This can be proved by the staff who were on those development projects.
00:54There is corruption that goes with unfinished operations.
00:58There are huge amounts of money used in development projects that have no specific plan.
01:03What we call plan here goes with every new government that comes in and presents some kind of unrealistic
01:10action plan.
01:11This results into gangs and smuggling because the more it's unstable, the more it comes
01:17with corruption, disorganization.
01:19And everyone makes their own rules.
01:23Yakinte believes the aid system has become bloated, prioritizing paperwork and visibility over
01:29real solutions, especially in countries already shattered by conflict.
01:34Organizations on the ground know what their communities need.
01:37But they've long been shut out of major aid funds due to strict eligibility rules.
01:43Aid workers like Mireille and Kouzoué will be there, delivering essential care to women
01:48and girls at risk, no matter what.
01:50Our profile does not allow us to access funding.
01:55The requirements were too stringent.
01:56We were not eligible, but we kept applying despite these facts.
02:02If the U.S. aid funding does not come back, there will be a gap in our budget provisions.
02:10But it will not stop us from serving the community.
02:16In Congo, aid may come and go, but what remains is the will to survive and the courage of those
02:21who never stop fighting for a better tomorrow.
02:24.