African Countries Consider ‘Vice Taxes’ to Help Fill USAID Cuts

As Lesley-Ann Foster packs up her office in the South African coastal city of East London, putting years of patient records and funding applications into boxes, her mind wanders to the events that led up to this moment. There was the sudden closure of the United States Agency for International Development the previous January. The reduction in aid from European donors. The layoffs she was forced to enact in November. And finally, the holidays, when Masimanyane Women’s Rights International had to turn away roughly 300 survivors of sexual assault because there simply wasn’t enough staff to care for them.

Foster started the nonprofit three decades ago to address escalating violence against women and children in the region, which is among the poorest in South Africa. Masimanyane initially provided counseling and guidance for about 100 people a month, before expanding its capacity by fivefold. It stationed employees at local hospitals to help trauma victims navigate the system and ran community outreach programs. At its height, it had a network of 14 shelters and offices. Now, that number has fallen to five.