The International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b) has suffered a major setback due to a new policy by the United States, with over 1,000 employees reportedly receiving termination letters.
These employees were working on various research projects funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Prothom Alo reported on Friday.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, an official told the Bangla daily that more than 1,000 people had been given termination letters. “Most of them were employed on a contractual basis."
The highest number of job losses occurred in the tuberculosis program under the infectious diseases division. Employees in this program were working in collaboration with the government’s National Tuberculosis Control Program.
On January 25, the USAID office at the US Embassy in Dhaka issued a letter instructing all NGOs and partner organizations to immediately halt or suspend all activities.
The letter referenced an executive order by US President Donald Trump, which suspended existing foreign aid and halted new assistance.
However, emergency food aid and military assistance to Israel and Egypt were exempt from this order.
USAID is a major funding source for icddr,b, providing more than 20% of its annual budget.
The institution employs over 5,000 researchers, officers and staff.
