USAID closure affects deaf employees and deaf programs around world

I was able to talk with a deaf employee at USAID (US Agency for International Development) about how the Trump administration and Elon Musk’s DOGE’s aggressive actions to shutter the agency are impacting deaf people.

This deaf employee prefers to remain anonymous out of fears of retaliation. The following information is from our conversation.

There are between 10 to 15 deaf employees at USAID that will lose their jobs in the next few weeks due to the agency being shut down.

There are about 10,000 civil and foreign service employees and about 70,000 contractors with USAID. Many international partners that get USAID funding employ workers, so it’s probably about 300,000 jobs around the world that are lost.

This deaf employee said USAID has done a lot of good around the world, like reducing malnutrition of babies, ensuring free and fair elections, and strengthening education systems. It is staggering to see how much the organization is targeted, and that many allegations of corruption and wrongdoing are absurd.

The employee said USAID’s work benefits many Deaf communities around the world because the agency puts an emphasis on making sure that international programs are accessible to as well as inclusive of Deaf people – this usually means encouraging international programs to provide sign language interpreters AND doing programs specifically for them.

There are some USAID programs that have directly benefited Deaf people and Deaf children, especially in areas of education, workforce development, and organizational strengthening. There are Deaf education initiatives in at least five countries now that have their funding cut off.

The employee said some of the criticism against USAID’s programs doesn’t take into account the big picture – that although individual projects may seem trivial, they actually work to bring more stability to regions where young people may be easily lured into terrorist organizations. If they receive education or job skills, they are less likely to become terrorists. USAID’s work also reduces the risk of outbreaks of disease. The employee said USAID is actually like a line of defense from those who would attack the U.S. or its allies. That’s now gone.

Thank you to the deaf employee for sharing.

I did a Google search on USAID and deaf and saw that USAID had a project with Gallaudet and the Nigerian National Association of the Deaf to empower deaf children through education, employment and life opportunities. It was a program that continued through 2024.

I also found a USAID program in Turkmenistan where a sign language interpretation service was launched and another program to encourage Deaf people in Senegal to vote by teaching them about the election process.

It’s those types of programs around the world that are cut. USAID’s budget is less than 1% of the federal budget.

https://gallaudet.edu/international-affairs/usaid-launches-new-activity-to-empower-deaf-in-nigeria-through-sign-language-based-education/

https://tm.usembassy.gov/usaid-facilitates-launch-of-the-first-sign-language-interpretation-service-in-turkmenistan/