U.S. funding freeze dents Cambodian social, rights projects

NGOs particularly feel the brunt as government has shifted to debt financing

20250203 A de-miner works a mine clearence site in Cambodia.

A de-miner works in a mine clearence site in Battambang Cambodia. Such projects are among those that have been badly affected by the U.S. government's decision to freeze almost all aid funding for 90 days while a review is carried out. © Getty Images

DANIELLE KEETON-OLSEN

February 3, 2025 18:33 JST

PHNOM PENH -- The freeze on almost all U.S. government foreign assistance is set to hit Cambodia disproportionally hard, with social services and human rights initiatives expected to suffer most, aid workers and experts have warned.

The Trump administration announced on Jan. 24 a 90-day freeze on the disbursement of all U.S. Agency for International Development funding and a stop work to all employees, which was later expanded to grants from other U.S. government agencies. Dozens of senior USAID officials lost their jobs in the following days and the agency's website went down over the weekend.