News — 05 February, 2025

HOT Statement on the US Federal Government Disruption of Foreign Assistance

It’s been over a week since the US federal government ordered the disruption of foreign assistance through the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and other government bodies. As a recipient of US funding and an organization with strong connections to communities that rely on US foreign development assistance, the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT) joins the concerns shared by our key humanitarian partners about the immediate and severe consequences of this decision.

In our 15 years of existence, USAID has been a critical partner in our mission to expand access to open geospatial data and technology around the world. US foreign assistance has been essential for recovery and community building in Haiti post-2010 earthquake, the development of disaster management tools in Indonesia and the Philippines, informing malaria prediction models for mitigation measures, and strengthening local governance in countries like Liberia and Zambia. In each of these activities, the data created addressed immediate challenges, such as coordinating the routes of vehicles to deliver aid, establishing water and health services at refugee camps, and providing disaster managers the ability to build early warning systems. These critical open data sets are now used by actors in government, academia, civil society, and the private sector.

No organization is an island. HOT’s work relies on the existence and operations of many other actors in the humanitarian and development sectors whose work is now in jeopardy. Just one week of work stoppage has already had devastating impacts globally, with malaria, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, reproductive health services, and many other programs being interrupted with inevitably fatal consequences.

We stand in solidarity with all of the people, communities, and partner organizations impacted by the actions of the US government, inside and outside the United States. We will strive to find solutions that allow our work to continue and to support the people and organizations detrimentally affected by these decisions.

We call on the US federal government to immediately resume humanitarian assistance and its funding for international development. Although there are challenges with the current foreign assistance model, these should be addressed by proper review and evaluation mechanisms, not by abruptly cutting off funding, which puts millions of lives at risk.

We also call on the international donor community - multilateral and bilateral aid agencies, foundations, and corporations - to step forward to cover the gaps created. These events have shown us the fragility of a system that relies so heavily on one source of funding.

As a show of support to the impacted partners and communities, we are launching a 90-day mapping campaign showcasing humanitarian needs around the world. For more information or to get involved, please check the link above or reach out to communications@hotosm.org.