Five years ago, by a bipartisan vote, Congress passed the Middle East Partnership for Peace Act (MEPPA), creating a $250 million fund to support a wide range of projects, including Rozana’s Nurse Training Hub. MEPPA Advisory Board members and top USAID staff visited our project multiple times over the past two years and praised it publicly, saying it is exactly the type of initiative needed in these times.
On January 20, President Trump signed an Executive Order calling for the freezing and review of all foreign aid, and on January 25, Secretary of State Rubio implemented the order freezing all funding for USAID projects worldwide, including MEPPA. A few days ago, we received a termination letter which stated that Rubio, in his capacity as the USAID Acting Administrator, decided that Rozana’s project “is not aligned with Agency priorities and made a determination that continuing this program is not in the national interest.” At this writing, it appears that the same letter was received by all MEPPA grantees.
We were still owed over $1 million on the grant, training sessions were cancelled and staff left unfunded. Disappointed nurses and hospital administrators are left feeling abandoned after so much good work has already been done. Despite the horrors of October 7th and the ensuing war, a groundbreaking peace-building retreat took place right before the freeze was announced, and there is so much more we planned to do.
We are frustrated and angry over this misguided, illogical step by the administration. However, we will not be deterred and are determined to move forward with all our other programs, despite this financial blow. These include:
- Women4Women Clinics – Female Palestinian healthcare professionals treating tens of thousands of women and children in small West Bank villages, supported via remote technology by doctors at Sheba Hospital near Tel Aviv.
- Wheels Of Hope – Transporting sick children from their West Bank homes to appointments in Israeli hospitals.
- Fellowships – Palestinian doctors sent by their hospitals to learn critical sub-specialties in Israeli hospitals, significantly improving the capability of the Palestinian healthcare system to treat patients in their neighborhoods, rather than having to travel to Israel for critical care.
- Gaza Mobile Clinics – Tens of thousands of displaced Gazans have been treated for a wide variety of ailments since we launched this operation in September.
However, we are unable to carry out this mission without your financial support. If you don’t believe a president should cancel a contract signed by United States officials and redirect funds already allocated by Congress, your contribution to Rozana will put your beliefs into action. You will help maintain hope in the region and improve healthcare outcomes for Palestinians on the West Bank and in Gaza.
This story is further explained in The Jewish Insider. And the broader impact of USAID cuts on several “peace-building” initiatives, including Rozana, is analyzed in this article in the Australia-based publication, The Jewish Independent.