Latest news with #Chemonics
Travel Daily News
26-05-2025
- Business
- Travel Daily News
GTRCMC and Chemonics International join forces to strengthen tourism resilience
Chemonics and GTRCMC partner to strengthen global tourism resilience, advancing sustainability, crisis management, academic collaboration, and capacity-building initiatives worldwide. KINGSTON, JAMAICA – Global professional services firm Chemonics International and the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre (GTRCMC), which has its headquarters in Jamaica, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) aimed at enhancing the resilience of tourism destinations around the world. This collaboration brings together Chemonics' 50 years of sustainable development experience across 150 countries with GTRCMC's pioneering work in tourism resilience and crisis management. 'Tourism is a critical economic driver that supports millions of livelihoods, particularly for women, young people, and rural communities,' said Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett. 'Our partnership with Chemonics will strengthen the industry's foundation and ensure its sustainable growth despite global challenges,' he added. Tourism, the world's third-largest industry generating approximately $11.1 trillion and supporting nearly 348 million jobs globally, faces increasing challenges from climate change, economic volatility, and other crises. This collaboration addresses the urgent need to build more resilient tourism economies, particularly benefiting the small and medium-sized enterprises that dominate the sector. 'This partnership represents a significant step forward in our commitment to sustainable tourism development,' said Chemonics President and CEO Jamey Butcher. 'By combining our global implementation expertise with GTRCMC's specialized knowledge in tourism resilience, we can make meaningful contributions to destinations' ability to withstand and recover from crises,' he noted. The MOU will focus on three key objectives: Enhancing global tourism resilience through practical solutions and strategies Promoting thought leadership through international fora and conferences Catalyzing academic collaborations to establish resilience Centres worldwide 'The GTRCMC stands ready to improve the responsiveness of tourism dependent countries and this collaboration with Chemonics will provide the necessary expertise to do so,' said Professor Lloyd Waller, Executive Director of the GTRCMC. The collaboration will include organizing international conferences, conducting joint research projects, and implementing capacity-building programmes for tourism stakeholders. These initiatives directly contribute to several United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals by promoting inclusive economic growth, sustainable consumption, and environmental conservation.
New York Times
19-03-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Foreign Aid Wasn't Perfect. Here's How to Fix It.
The dismantling of U.S.A.I.D. was contemptible for so many reasons, not least of which that it was based on false claims and puts millions of the world's most vulnerable at risk. If you think the Biden administration's withdrawal from Afghanistan was bad, consider the chaos and death since this administration's abrupt withdrawal from the entire world. Instead of winding down projects responsibly, the U.S. government left like a thief in the night, owing money, breaking promises and abandoning American aid workers in conflict zones. Although a federal judge on Tuesday cast U.S.A.I.D. a temporary lifeline, foreign aid as we knew it is gone. While some contracts might be brought back under the State Department, it's unlikely that the U.S. government — the largest donor in the world, according to recent data — will soon restore its foreign aid to the level it was. That doesn't mean the rest of us should give up trying to help other nations. Those who care about the world and America's role in it need to create a new vision for what foreign aid could be. It's early days in the effort to reimagine aid, but this much is clear: It should be leaner and less bureaucratic. It should be based on partnerships that respond to local needs, not pronouncements from Washington. And it will sometimes be fueled by private donations rather than taxpayer dollars. A public discussion has already begun. For instance, Unlock Aid, a group that has been trying to reform foreign aid for years, is unveiling a series of new ideas this month. The first step is acknowledging that the old system had flaws. To be sure, millions of lives were saved during famines and epidemics. But let's be honest. U.S.A.I.D. could be inefficient and wasteful. It's hard to talk about that because such acknowledgments get misused as weapons against foreign aid, but building a better blueprint requires it. Part of the blame lies with Congress, which loaded up U.S.A.I.D. with burdensome regulations. That's why, year after year, grants and contracts flowed to the same American behemoths that perfected the art of federal fund-raising. Last fiscal year, only about $2 billion — out of some tens of billions of dollars — went directly to local partners on the ground. Much of the rest of the money was funneled through international organizations like the World Bank, or big American nonprofits and companies that can spend as much as half of their budget on overhead costs like rent and salaries in the United States. Top recipients of U.S.A.I.D. funds include the Baltimore-based Catholic Relief Services, which gets high marks for its work, and the Washington-based for-profit company Chemonics, which often doesn't. (Chemonics just agreed to pay $3.1 million to settle claims of fraudulent billing, providing fodder for Elon Musk's assault on aid.) Organizations like these pay local partners around the world to work on U.S.A.I.D.'s behalf. But it doesn't always end well. According to one survey, many local partners who worked on subcontracts from U.S.A.I.D. said that they were barely consulted on budgets and work plans, and were paid less than what they were promised. That's awful. Local groups are far more cost-effective and attuned to what communities need. They stay long after foreign workers depart. To make foreign aid more efficient and more effective, we should cut out the middlemen when we can. That's what leaders in the global south have been demanding for decades. It's what they were promised in 2016, when international funders, including U.S.A.I.D., agreed to spend 25 percent of their funding on local groups by 2020. U.S.A.I.D. was still falling short of that target when it was dismantled this year. U.S.A.I.D.'s closure gut-punched everyone who works in this field, but inequities of the system remain. Big American organizations that got the most U.S.A.I.D. funding are the best positioned to weather the storm. Some have had grants reinstated. Others are attracting foundation money. Local partners are the ones left struggling to explain to needy people why projects ended overnight. In the short run, Americans who care about foreign aid should donate directly to abandoned U.S.A.I.D. grantees, or to emergency bridge funds that have been set up to support them. Americans should also support online platforms that serve local groups such as Kuja and Disaster Accountability Project's which collected video appeals from its network and shared them with me for this article. But over the long term, adjusting to the new reality means approaching aid in a radically different way. Time limits and exit strategies for U.S. funders should be baked in from the beginning. Projects that generate income to offset humanitarian activities should be encouraged, not shunned. Dr. Deqo Mohamed, a Somali American OB-GYN who runs a hospital and a mobile clinic in Somaliland, charges patients a small fee. The money is used to pay local midwives and doctors, allowing them to earn a living. That also means that the hospital and clinic don't have to rely on foreign aid workers, who often disappear when security gets shaky. Somalis are sometimes reluctant to pay because they are so used to getting free medical services from foreigners, she said. That mind-set is part of what needs to change, she said: 'The change has to be both sides, not only international NGOS.' Private donors will need to think differently, too. They should realize that they have the greatest impact when they empower local leaders, as funds like NEAR and the African Visionary Fund aim to do. While no private donor is likely to fill the U.S.A.I.D.-sized hole in the international aid budget, private philanthropy could help many groups survive with relatively small outlays. In Goma, a city of roughly two million people in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and which has just been overrun by the rebel group M23, a local organization called BIFERD has been providing clean water and toilets to tens of thousands of displaced people. BIFERD had a six-month contract from U.S.A.I.D. for $500,000. Now that it has been canceled, about 40,000 people are in danger of losing access to sanitation, said Jonas Habimana, the group's executive director, in a video appeal. The government, which has been at war with M23 for years, can't handle the crisis, and most organizations in Goma were funded by U.S.A.I.D., he said. 'Those who will still have a heart to support, this is the moment to come in solidarity with us,' he said. People 'are really traumatized.' In Ethiopia, a group called Action for Integrated Sustainable Development Association educated roughly 30,000 children displaced by war, and supported maternal health clinics and pharmacies serving some 390,000 people. The cost? Just $1.6 million over five years. And in Poland, a group called Fundacja Q has been giving aid and counseling to Ukrainian children who lost their parents, and to women who were raped by Russian soldiers. These are some of the most vulnerable people in the world. The projects that serve them should not disappear. As American government generosity wanes and the global south grows more assertive, foreign aid must change, but we should not cede the vision of what it can be to Elon Musk or Donald Trump.
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Global health funding takes new hits with more USAID cuts
Programs initially identified by the State Department as lifesaving were terminated Thursday as part of the Trump administration's move to cut more than 10,000 foreign aid contracts. The new cutbacks, which have devastated the aid sector, include parts of USAID's largest contract — a $9.5 billion global health supply chain initiative. Chemonics, the company implementing the initiative, has not yet received a termination notice for the portion of the project that supports HIV/AIDS treatment, a person familiar with USAID's programs told Semafor. Other contracts for tuberculosis, malaria, and HIV treatment have been canceled, and over 1,000 emergency food kitchens in famine-stricken Sudan have been forced to shut down. Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., said a dozen nonprofits in the sector have said 'they were genuinely surprised' at the cancellation of contracts with waivers.
Khaleej Times
28-01-2025
- Health
- Khaleej Times
Trump order set to halt supply of HIV, malaria drugs to poor countries, sources say
The Trump administration has moved to stop the supply of lifesaving drugs for HIV, malaria and tuberculosis, as well as medical supplies for newborn babies, in countries supported by USAID around the globe, a memo reviewed by Reuters showed. On Tuesday, contractors and partners who work with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) began receiving such memos to stop work immediately, sources said. The move is part of a wider freeze on US aid and funding put in place since Trump took office on January 20, while programmes are reviewed. One such memo went to Chemonics, a large US consulting firm which works with USAID on the supply of medicines for a range of conditions worldwide. The memo covers the firm's work on HIV, malaria and tuberculosis as well as contraception and maternal and child health supplies, one USAID source and one former USAID official told Reuters. "This is catastrophic," said Atul Gawande, former head of global health at USAID who left the agency this month. "Donated drug supplies keeping 20 million people living with HIV alive. That stops today." Chemonics and USAID did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment. Interruptions in treatment for diseases mean that patients risk getting sick, as well as, in the case of HIV in particular, transmitting the virus to others. It also means drug-resistant strains may emerge, Gawande said. He said other partners had also received notices that meant they would be unable to deliver medicines to clinics even if they had them in stock, or open the clinics if they are funded by the US. That includes organisations working with 6.5 million orphans and vulnerable children with HIV in 23 countries, he said. Trump ordered a 90-day pause in foreign development assistance on January 20, the day he took the oath of office, pending assessments of efficiencies and consistency with US foreign policy. His administration has also put on leave about 60 senior career officials at the USAID, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday. The administration's actions threaten billions of dollars of life-saving aid from the world's largest single donor. In fiscal year 2023, the US disbursed $72 billion in assistance. It provided 42 per cent of all humanitarian aid tracked by the United Nations in 2024.
Yahoo
28-01-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Trump order set to halt supply of HIV, malaria drugs to poor countries, sources say
By Jennifer Rigby LONDON (Reuters) - The Trump administration has moved to stop the supply of lifesaving drugs for HIV, malaria and tuberculosis, as well as medical supplies for newborn babies, in countries supported by USAID around the globe, a memo reviewed by Reuters showed. On Tuesday, contractors and partners who work with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) began receiving such memos to stop work immediately, sources said. The move is part of a wider freeze on U.S. aid and funding put in place since Trump took office on Jan. 20, while programmes are reviewed. See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. One such memo went to Chemonics, a large U.S. consulting firm which works with USAID on the supply of medicines for a range of conditions worldwide. The memo covers the firm's work on HIV, malaria and tuberculosis as well as contraception and maternal and child health supplies, one USAID source and one former USAID official told Reuters. "This is catastrophic," said Atul Gawande, former head of global health at USAID who left the agency this month. "Donated drug supplies keeping 20 million people living with HIV alive. That stops today." Chemonics and USAID did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment. Interruptions in treatment for diseases mean that patients risk getting sick, as well as, in the case of HIV in particular, transmitting the virus to others. It also means drug-resistant strains may emerge, Gawande said. He said other partners had also received notices that meant they would be unable to deliver medicines to clinics even if they had them in stock, or open the clinics if they are funded by the U.S. That includes organisations working with 6.5 million orphans and vulnerable children with HIV in 23 countries, he said. Trump ordered a 90-day pause in foreign development assistance on Jan. 20, the day he took the oath of office, pending assessments of efficiencies and consistency with U.S. foreign policy. His administration has also put on leave about 60 senior career officials at the USAID, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday. The administration's actions threaten billions of dollars of life-saving aid from the world's largest single donor. In fiscal year 2023, the U.S. disbursed $72 billion in assistance. It provided 42% of all humanitarian aid tracked by the United Nations in 2024.
