The suspension and termination of US support on partner organisations in Bangladesh has had immediate and severe impacts, especially on marginalized communities in the country.
Background: IPPF's Partners in Bangladesh
In 2025, IPPF had two partners in Bangladesh, Population Services and Training Centre (PSTC) and Bandhu Social Welfare Society (Bandhu). Both of these partners support vulnerable, marginalised populations. PSTC run an extensive clinic and community-based network across Bangladesh. This includes collaboration with private sector facilities and social marketing. PSTC was a sub-recipient of a USAID programme, supporting health and legal welfare support for marginalised communities including sex workers and injecting drug users (IDUs). Bandhu is a community led organisation which was founded in 1996. Bandhu works to protect the legal rights, economic situation and health status of gender diverse populations. They received support from USAID from 2022 until 2025 to support civil society organisations to improve service delivery and advocate for greater freedom and security for gender diverse populations.
In late 2024 and early 2025, the SRHR sector in Bangladesh was dismantled by a catastrophic convergence of three events: a volatile political transition, a sharp rise in organised religious extremism, and the abrupt withdrawal of critical international funding. This triple threat has undone decades of progress, leaving vulnerable populations—particularly the LGBTIQ+ community and marginalised groups—without legal protection, economic support, or access to life-saving healthcare in the face of a HIV epidemic that continues to be concentrated amongst marginalised populations — the HIV prevalence in the gender diverse population is 1%, exponentially higher than the overall Bangladeshi population (< 0.01%) [1].
A perfect storm
IPPF partners reported that the crisis began with the July Revolution[2] in 2024 and the subsequent installation of an interim government. While the transition initially promised democratic reform, the accompanying breakdown of law and order created a severe security vacuum. Community leaders report that the police force became effectively non-functional, leaving at-risk organisations exposed to mob violence. As the rule of law receded, religious fundamentalist groups capitalised on the instability to launch a coordinated anti-gender campaign. Unlike previous sporadic harassment, this was a structured movement involving the publication of anti-LGBTIQ+ literature that specifically named activists and donors to incite mob justice.
It was against this backdrop of physical insecurity and public vilification that the third blow struck: the abrupt termination of USAID funding in January 2025. This decision, coinciding with a broader retreat by European donors, did not merely reduce budgets; it decimated the support infrastructure for LGBTIQ+ people, just as they needed it most.
Impacts: Operational collapse
The impact of the funding cuts was immediate and devastating, forcing organisations to retreat from holistic rights-based programmes into survival mode. Bandhu, a critical support organisation for LGBTIQ+ people, lost two major USAID-funded projects worth approximately $2 million in January 2025 – representing nearly a third of their total annual income. This included termination of a project following the issuance of an Executive Order by Trump, which mandated that U.S. Government federal funding must not support programmes deemed discriminatory, including those categorised as illegal DEI and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) [3].
With no alternative fundraising channels available, Bandhu was forced to lay off 120 staff members and close 62% of their service delivery points. This collapse extended to the broader ecosystem, severely affecting allied community-based organisations that relied on this infrastructure.
The consequences for public health and human rights have been catastrophic. The closure of clinics severed the lifeline for HIV prevention and treatment for approximately 15,000 clients. With stocks of HIV test kits running critically low and prevention programmes halted, community leaders have already reported that new infections are rising, unchecked. The psychological toll has been equally severe; the combination of economic destitution and public persecution has led to a reported spike in suicides within the trans community.
PSTC faced a similar dismantling of capacity, with their annual budget for 2025 cut by just over $500,000 – approximately 30% of their budget. This forced the closure of key initiatives like the Marketing Innovation for Health project and led to the termination of 37 staff positions. Although some staff were transferred or rehired, the organisation’s ability to advocate for rights has been severely diminished. Likewise, programme management and operational delivery continues to be affected, with staff unable to travel to connect with communities. During 2025, PTSC estimated that it would reach 11,000 fewer clients through outreach than planned.
Crucially, the funding cuts have forced the removal of social justice components from programmes serving female sex workers and injecting drug users. Advocacy meetings with law enforcement have also ceased. Our partners in Bangladesh reported observing a rise in harassment towards vulnerable populations as police and new government officials began to view standard harm-reduction tools, such as condoms and syringes, as illegal or immoral.
Emergency response and uncertain future
Despite the severity of the crisis, total collapse has been averted through emergency support. IPPF’s Harm Mitigation Fund played a critical role, stabilizing PSTC with an emergency grant and allowing it to resume social marketing of family planning commodities in areas previously funded by USAID.
However, while this support has allowed IPPF’s partner organisations to survive the immediate shock, they have not fully recovered. The SRHR movement remains in a precarious state, with future sustainability hinged on a transition to more local revenue generation through social enterprise models in an environment that remains hostile to their mission.
[1]Gazi, M. I., Hamid, H. B., & Chowdhury, A. A. (2025). Geographic and age-group analysis of key Global AIDS Monitoring (GAM) indicators among the transgender women or Hijra populations in Bangladesh: Data from IBBS 2020 surveillance. Discover Public Health, 22(1), 847. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12982-025-01257-3
[2] https://muse.jhu.edu/article/947884
[3] Exec. Order No. 14,173, Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity, 3(a) (Jan. 21, 2025). Available from: https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/ending-illegal-discrimination-and-restoring-merit-based-opportunity/