Calgary anti-corruption organization working in Uganda hit hard by America’s foreign aid cutbacks

A Calgary organization is among those impacted by the dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development.

A Calgary organization is among those in the Canadian aid sector impacted as Washington winds down the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Cheyanne Scharbatke-Church, the executive director for Besa Global, was in Uganda preparing to launch the organizations latest anti-corruption project when she received an email ordering them to stop.

“(We’re) Pretty devastated,” she said. “We were contracted to with with some Ugandan non-profit organizations to help stop the corruption that happens in basic services.”

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She says many people in Uganda are forced to give money, sex or political favours to access health care and other services meant to be covered by tax dollars.

Scharbatke-Church says the pause of U.S. aid means about four Besa staff members in Uganda and Calgary will be laid off, and the more than a year spent developing the program will be wasted.

“The way this was handled actually maximized the waste and maximized the inefficient use of American tax dollars,” she said.

The American government has made moves to cut its budget since January – including pausing most U.S. foreign aid for 90 days, leaving several humanitarian projects that involve Canadian organizations in limbo.

Besa signed a contract in November 2024 for US$1.5 million over three and a half years.

According to that contract, the organization was supposed to do the work first, then U.S. aid was supposed to provide reimbursement, but what happens now is unclear.

“We have expenses and contracts we committed to. We’re in pause now, but we still have to pay those agreements.”

It’s also unclear what will happen to the $40 million that Canada put toward U.S. aid programs that haven’t been completed.

The head of Besa says new administrations often realign foreign policy, but this choice takes a new tone.

“Executive orders aren’t supposed to be able to overturn congressionally approved funding” she said. “All legal analysis suggests it’s against the law.”

The decision has cut off life-saving supplies to millions of people, according to aid coalition Cooperation Canada.

“These cuts are costing lives,” said Kate Higgins, chief executive officer of Cooperation Canada.

“They are also undermining the global rules-based order that Canada has long championed.”

“Corruption, conflict and crime are catalysts of migration, they’re the catalysts of terrorist activity, they’re the catalyst of unrest, and all of that ripples back to us,” Scharbatke-Church said. “We cannot build borders that disconnect us from that. That’s just the reality of a globalized world.”

While America is making moves to tighten its spending, some warn that the abrupt stop is creating a humanitarian gap with serious consequences, including ending of life-saving services for millions and the possible spread of unrest or disease.

Scharbatke-Church said members of America’s Centre for Disease Control and Prevention team were ordered out of Uganda the same day as her.

“Ebola has now broken out in Uganda, and your main health-care tracking around Ebola has now been stopped because the American funding behind it has stopped,” she said.

“If those diseases hit our shores, that is going to devastate anybody who catches them.”

Besa hopes to find funding elsewhere for its anti-corruption projects but says unlike the business world, foreign aid contracts take years to secure.

In a statement sent to CTV News via email, Global Affairs Canada said it is “assessing the situation” following changes to U.S. foreign aid.

“Canada’s efforts continue to alleviate poverty, advance human rights, and support the world’s most vulnerable as we work toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.”