STAT News – Op-Ed by ED Jeffrey Okoro Addresses What the loss of USAID means in Kenyan slums
March 17, 2025
“I’m head of an NGO in Kenya. The shutoff of USAID support has been devastating.”
“I’m head of an NGO in Kenya. The shutoff of USAID support has been devastating.”
“Change is rarely linear, impact takes time, and contexts change, especially in dynamic environments like the informal settlements in which CFK Africa works.”
“There are a lot of good things happening around decolonizing aid and localization, and that is something that CFK Africa is engaging in.”
“The fear is real” said CFK Africa Executive Director, Jeffrey Okoro.
“There is a potential for us to move the story of informal settlements to actually productive sites where income is generated and products are produced.”
“Officials with CFK Africa noted that the sudden drop in funding has upended Kenya’s health care system, which was supported directly and indirectly through USAID in several ways.”
As a YPP, Hezborn connects youth in Kibera with mental health counseling and health services at CFK Africa’s Youth Friendly Services Center.
“There is a lot of misunderstanding on what aid or development work is. To me, it restores dignity, brings out the best in humanity, and lessens suffering, and I think that is missed from a lot of the current news stories on the pullback of aid,” said CFK Africa Executive Director Jeffrey Okoro.
“For me, foreign aid has a human face and a name. It is Asha, a 17-year-old mother of a 2-year-old boy, who lives in Nairobi Kenya’s large and difficult slum, Kibera.”
“It’s given me the confidence to know I can succeed as an electrician.”