Photo: The pharmacy at Friends Lugulu Mission.
US aid freeze hits Quaker school and hospital
‘We remain concerned that the decision… will result in the preventable deaths of the patients we are called to serve.’
The suspension of foreign aid from the US has hit Quaker programmes, such as support for Ramallah Friends School (RFS) and the Friends Lugulu Mission Hospital.
Kelly Kellum, general secretary for Friends United Meeting (FUM), said that, for years, FUM has collaborated with the US Agency for International Development to oversee grants through the American Schools and Hospitals Abroad Program. Both the Friends Lugulu Mission Hospital and RFS have benefited from this. ‘Currently, FUM has received a $1.4 million grant to construct an assembly hall on the lower campus of Ramallah Friends School,’ she said. ‘Construction was underway when, on 28 January 2025, we were notified that our grant was suspended.’
On 25 February 2025, FUM received official notification that the international aid award had been terminated. Writing in FUM’s weekly e-letter, Kelly Kellum said: ‘To comply with the terms of the suspension, we ceased work on the project, released our contractors and workers, and filed compliance reports. Currently, we have a gaping hole of a construction site on our campus. We are liable for the work completed on the project, and, to date, we owe our contractors and workers $332,000. We are still waiting to know if this distribution request, submitted before suspension, will be honored. And we need to raise an additional $1,058,488.’
Friends Lugulu Mission Hospital has also been impacted. The hospital is supported by Catholic Charities and Christian Health Association of Kenya. Both agencies receive funding from the US. Kelly Kellum said: ‘Our Comprehensive Care Clinic (CCC), supported by Catholic Charities through US foreign aid, employs twenty-three dedicated staff members who provide life-saving medical services and counseling to patients diagnosed with HIV and tuberculosis. The clinic also runs essential programs to mitigate malaria in the region. The enforcement of the executive order required the hospital to cease clinic services to over 2,900 patients and dismiss clinic staff. However, the hospital is attempting to absorb some of the activities of the clinic with volunteers and medication they have on hand. The operational costs of the clinic are about $12,000 per month… We remain concerned that the decision to suspend this program will result in the preventable deaths of the very patients we are called to serve.’
Last month, a federal judge ordered the US administration to restore funding for hundreds of foreign aid contractors. ‘This provided us some hope that the most critical programs might be restored,’ writes Kelly Kellum. ‘On [last] Wednesday, however, the Supreme Court halted the lower court’s ruling, keeping the suspensions and funding freeze in place.’
Quakers have been asked to donate. Friends can give to RFS through the Foundation For Tomorrow Campaign (https://tinyurl.com/ramallahappeal), and, for the hospital in Lugulu, through the FUM website.
