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Aid workers in Nepal left jobless by USAID cuts turn to sex work to survive
More than 280,000 aid workers worldwide lost jobs after USAID was dissolved, and some former HIV outreach staff in Nepal say they had no other way to survive.
- In January 2025, President Donald Trump froze funding for the U.S. Agency for International Development, dissolving the agency and eliminating 280,000 jobs worldwide. Former aid workers in Nepal have turned to sex work to survive the cuts.
- The funding cuts shuttered Friends Hetauda, an HIV prevention organization in Nepal, leaving 262 of its 350 staff members jobless. NGO Federation of Nepal President Arjun Bhattarai estimates 35,000 aid workers nationwide lost employment due to the USAID dissolution.
- Princy Tamang, a former HIV outreach worker, now earns just $2 to $3 per client, often insufficient to cover her $80 monthly living costs. She is among approximately 100 LGBTQ+ aid workers who turned to sex work after losing employment.
- Dr. Sarbesh Sharma, director of Nepal's National Centre for AIDS and STD Control, warns the loss of prevention services threatens public health. Condom funding was cut by more than 90% in some areas, leaving workers at heightened risk.
- For transgender people in Nepal, legal employment remains virtually nonexistent, creating a 'sex work or starve' reality. Executive director Manisha Dhakal noted the funding withdrawal removed the only safety net for those who once provided essential HIV prevention services.
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35 Articles
35 Articles
The Washington Post+21 Reposted by 21 other sources
What a reporter learned covering the impact of USAID cuts on aid workers-turned-sex workers in Nepal
·Washington, United States
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Associated Press News+9 Reposted by 9 other sources
Sex work or starve: Aid workers in Nepal left jobless by USAID cuts turn to sex work to survive
After the United States slashed its foreign aid funding last year, more than 280,000 aid workers worldwide lost their jobs.
·New York, United States
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He walks side by side along the dark road in central Nepal. The light of the trucks that roar as he passes is enough to illuminate his face made up before the men who arrive on rickshaws and motorcycles. He knows that every stranger who pays for his body could end his life. But he also knows that his money is the only thing that prevents his death.
Coverage Details
Total News Sources35
Leaning Left18Leaning Right1Center15Last UpdatedBias Distribution53% Left
Bias Distribution
- 53% of the sources lean Left
53% Left
L 53%
C 44%
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