When Elon Musk and his cadre of juvenile tech bros took a chainsaw to the U.S. federal government this year, they said they were out to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse. It just so happens that most of the departments they slashed were either regulatory bodies with statutory authority to regulate Musk’s businesses or agencies that had run afoul of President Donald Trump’s vision for a less inclusive America. At the top of the list: The United States Agency for International Development, which was gutted in March.
Among the 5,000 foreign aid programs shut down in the process: more than a hundred working to advance the health, safety and human rights of LGBTQ people in countries worldwide.
Journalist David Hunt talked with Ari Shaw, Ph.D., senior fellow and director of international programs at the Williams Institute, about the impact of those funding cuts.
An edited version of this feature aired on This Way Out: The International LGBTQ Radio Magazine.
David Hunt is an Emmy-winning journalist and documentary producer who has reported on America's culture wars since the 1970s. Explore his blog, Tell Me, David.
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