(8 Apr 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Nairobi, Kenya – 8 April 2025
++VIA VIDEO CALL++
+++STARTS AND ENDS ON SOUNDBITE+++
1. SOUNDBITE (English) Bob Kitchen, Vice President for the International Rescue Committee:
“The world’s ability to meet humanitarian need has been completely disrupted by the U.S. government disconnecting. I recently heard it being described as a ship breaking its moorings. We have lost 40, more than 40% of the world’s humanitarian funding has been shaken by the decisions that are being made.”
+++BLACK FRAMES+++
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Bob Kitchen, Vice President for the International Rescue Committee:
“The seven, eight hundred thousand people that we’re serving every year will no longer get access to critical healthcare, including nutrition, helping many tens of thousands of kids under fives who desperately need malnutrition support, they will no long get that support. Kids who have seen great violence, who benefit from social work and psychosocial care that we provide will be cut off. Tens of thousands of people who are getting clean water and safe sanitation will no longer be able to access those services.”
+++BLACK FRAMES+++
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Bob Kitchen, Vice President for the International Rescue Committee:
“It’s really concerning. I think the context and the de facto authorities on the ground through the Taliban, you know, time will tell as to whether they can stand up and do more for their people, but history suggests that they’re struggling themselves. So, whether my best guess is that this is just a vacuum that’s left behind now.”
+++BLACK FRAMES+++
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Bob Kitchen, Vice President for the International Rescue Committee:
“We’ve been feeling hopeful that our programs would be sustained with U.S. government funding on the ground in Yemen. But sadly, again, we received determination notice this weekend. In Yemen, we’ve been supporting more than two million people over the years, using U.S. government funding, again looking at water and sanitation and health and nutrition services. Again, all of that has to now be brought to a close where we won’t be able to support those families anymore.”
+++BLACK FRAMES+++
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Bob Kitchen, Vice President for the International Rescue Committee:
“The U.S. government has been, and their funding has been an almost safety net, protecting against the worst impacts of climate change and conflict when they come together. The risk of food insecurity reaching towards famines is extremely real, and we face it in many countries at the moment, and with such a precipitous drop in funding in key countries like Yemen and Afghanistan. I am fearful that we’re going to turn around in months to come and just see the numbers of people who are perishing because there’s just not enough funding to keep them alive anymore.”
++ENDS ON SOUNDBITE++
STORYLINE:
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) said U.S. funding cuts will affect nearly one million people in Afghanistan, shuttering services to critical healthcare, including nutrition for tens of thousands of children under five.
Bob Kitchen, who leads global emergencies at IRC, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that U.S. funding provided urgent care for families and malnourished children.
The aid group also provided support to women suffering from gender-based violence and children needing psychosocial support.
“Kids who have seen great violence who benefit from social work and psychosocial care that we provide will be cut off,” he said.
It’s unlikely that the Taliban will be able to fill the void, he said.
Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/
You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/49174f4977344e58953e4a6a87825557
Author: AP Archive
Go to Source
News post in April 13, 2025, 6:05 pm.
Visit Our Sponsor’s:
News Post In – News
