Aug 27, 2026 · 20 min
USAID cuts push Nepal’s aid workers toward survival work
Some Aid Workers Turn To Sex Work Amid USAID Cuts
The episode shows how funding decisions can quickly dismantle HIV prevention, maternal-health support, and livelihoods for marginalized communities.
- 1USAID cuts weakened Nepal’s HIV-prevention network and left some transgender aid workers without stable employment.
- 2The loss of nutrition programs endangered pregnant women and children while local health workers struggled to fill the gap.
- 3The episode connects Nepal’s humanitarian crisis with floods, presidential politics, and efforts to turn civic concern into action.
Don't miss
Kristen Jeleneau recounts how Ruby Lama, a transgender aid worker in Nepal, turned to sex work after USAID cuts eliminated her stable employment.
The brief
USAID cuts have disrupted HIV-prevention services in Nepal, removing both essential care and stable jobs from communities that depended on them.
Associated Press reporter Kristen Jeleneau describes the Blue Diamond Society’s work and recounts how Ruby Lama, a transgender aid worker, was pushed toward sex work after losing employment.
The funding loss also threatens maternal health: without nutritional supplements, Kabita, a young mother with severe anemia, faced greater danger as local providers struggled to respond.
Jane Coaston places Nepal’s crisis alongside deadly floods, Trump’s proposed Lake America renaming, and questions about senior officials’ records and statements.
The episode closes by turning from humanitarian fallout to civic participation, highlighting Vote Save America’s Crooked Dozen campaign and its effort to channel concern into political action.