Transgender clinic in India shuts down after USAID funding freeze – media — RT India

India’s first transgender clinic has been shut down, according to local media reports. Called Mitr, the Indian word for ‘friend’, the clinic provided general health consultations, HIV testing and treatment, mental health support, and helped transgender individuals access legal and social services.

Mitr Clinic had been supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which provided healthcare services to the transgender community. 

The clinic’s closure comes after US President Donald Trump’s 90-day freeze on all US foreign aid, which includes over $40 billion in funding for international projects through USAID, according to reports. This action led to thousands of programs globally being suspended and numerous USAID officials placed on leave.

A trans health expert affiliated with the clinic quoted by The Hindu said that operations were suspended shortly after the funding cut was announced at the end of January. Mitr was established in Hyderabad in January 2021, and has two additional clinics in the western Indian cities of Mumbai and Pune.

Funding for the transgender clinic was recently questioned by US Republican Senator John Kennedy. “USAID gave money to a transgender clinic in India. I didn’t know that. I bet the American people didn’t know that,” he stated earlier in February.

Republican Representative Nancy Mace, meanwhile, pointed at a $750,000 grant by USAID to an organization linked to Bollywood actress Sonam Kapoor’s brother-in-law’s company Shahi Exports for “alleviating loneliness among migrant workers in India.”

On Monday, Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar raised concerns about possible foreign interference in India’s elections, following US President Donald Trump’s statement that USAID had allocated $21 million to increasing voter turnout in India.

He had said that New Delhi is investigating the matter and that the “facts will eventually come out.” On the same day, India’s Finance Ministry’s 2023-24 annual report disclosed that USAID was funding seven projects in India, totaling $750 million. These projects, implemented in collaboration with the Indian government, received a total of $97 million from USAID in the last fiscal year. They cover various sectors such as agriculture, water and sanitation, renewable energy, disaster management, and health, officials said.

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