GAROWE (SD) – Over 500 Aid workers, including senior staff, mid-level employees, junior staff, drivers, and various professionals, have been laid off since December of last year after the organizations they worked for ran out of funds to pay their salaries due to halted projects.

Some offices of these organizations in Puntland are planning to close by mid-year after failing to secure funding. Additionally, offices that previously employed 20 people are now operating with only 5 staff members, as confirmed by sources. The situation worsened over the past two months, with mass layoffs following the suspension of funding from USAID, which supported many development and humanitarian projects.

Puntland-based organizations had already lost some of their projects due to the conflict between the Federal Government of Somalia (DFS) and Puntland.

The unemployment faced by these individuals will impact tens of thousands of people who depend on their income. Furthermore, hundreds of businesses that relied on these projects for revenue are also facing financial difficulties.