GENEVA (Reuters) – The Danish Refugee Council, a major humanitarian group, said on Wednesday it will end its relief programmes in six countries and slash 650 additional jobs after the United States, its number two donor, cut funding.
U.S. President Donald Trump has drastically scaled back foreign aid as part of a review of foreign spending in a move some aid officials say could put millions of lives at risk.
The Danish group, which provides assistance to refugees and those displaced by disaster and conflicts, said the U.S. retrenchment would lead to “untold suffering and deaths” in a statement announcing the restructure.
“The scale of the current funding crisis demands that DRC adapt, renew itself, and prepare for a world where U.S. assistance will not resume,” the DRC said in a statement.
“Losing our second-largest funding partner will mean a reduced global footprint; most of all, it is a blow to millions of people displaced by conflict, disaster and climate change.”
The U.S. previously accounted for 20% of its budget.
The group said it would end programmes in six countries – Burundi, Central African Republic, Georgia, Kosovo, Mexico, and Tanzania – and remain present in 28 others.
Prior to the latest job cuts, the group had already cut 1,300 staff positions since February as a direct consequence of the U.S. funding cuts, it said.
(Reporting by Emma Farge; Editing by Aidan Lewis)
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