Geneva offers $11 mn for NGOs hit by US aid freeze

The Geneva regional government voted Friday to provide over $11 million in emergency aid to NGOs based in the Swiss city that have been hit by US foreign aid cuts.

The Geneva Grand Council passed with 60 votes in favour and 33 opposed a proposal made Wednesday by the cantonal parliament to unlock 10 million Swiss francs ($11.1 million) to help affected NGOs cover mainly salaries for the next three months.

The decision comes after US President Donald Trump, on his first day back in office, issued an executive order halting most US foreign aid funding.

That decision is already taking a toll in Geneva, which hosts the United Nations’ European headquarters, the seat of the International Committee of the Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders, with humanitarian aid operations around the world.

The city is home to around 40 international organisations as well as 476 NGOs, according to the Keystone-ATS news agency.

Many of these organisations have been heavily reliant on US funds, including to pay their staff.

Geneva canton’s economic affairs minister Delphine Bachmann had warned before Friday’s vote that many would be forced to carry out mass layoffs or be unable to pay employees.

“Layoff announcements affecting several dozen people have already been made,” Bachmann told the RTS broadcaster on Wednesday.

The International Geneva Welcome Centre, which supports employees of international organisations and NGOs, estimates that several hundred jobs are on the line, according to Keystone-ATS.