What Is Behind the Rise in S*x Work Among Nepal’s Former Aid Workers?

Hundreds of former aid workers in Nepal, many of them transgender, have turned to s*x work to survive after the United States slashed its foreign aid funding last year, leaving more than 280,000 aid workers worldwide jobless, according to a report by the Associated Press. In central Nepal, Rubi Lama, a 28 year old transgender woman who once conducted HIV outreach for a USAID funded organisation, now stands along a darkened highway most nights, one of roughly 100 former LGBTQ+ aid workers who have taken up s*x work after losing their jobs.

From Aid Worker To S*x Worker

Lama spent nine years working for Friends Hetauda, a USAID funded non governmental organisation in central Nepal that offered HIV testing, counselling and prevention services to the region's LGBTQ+ community. That work ended in January 2025, when US President Donald Trump froze funding for USAID and later dissolved the agency entirely.

Of the more than 281,000 jobs lost globally due to the dismantling of USAID, only around 23,000 were American, according to Sadie Healy, who runs a global health consulting firm tracking the job losses. The rest were overseas, many belonging to people in conflict zones or economically depressed regions with few other employment options. Agra Viral Video: Disturbing Clip Shows S*x Assault Survivor Pleading in Field; 2 Arrested.

In Nepal alone, an estimated 35,000 aid workers lost their jobs, according to Arjun Bhattarai, president of the NGO Federation of Nepal.

Blue Diamond Society Among The Hardest Hit

The Blue Diamond Society, an umbrella organisation for groups like Lama's former employer, received 85 percent of its funding from USAID and was staffed largely by gender and s*xual minorities working as counsellors, health assistants and outreach workers. It ran 20 clinics across Nepal that dispensed antiretroviral medication and PrEP, a preventive drug for HIV negative individuals, along with free HIV testing and condoms. Mumbai S*x Racket Busted: Cops Rescue Marathi Lead Actress, Another Actor in Girgaon Prostitution Racket Bust.

The funding cuts left more than 1,200 clients without access to PrEP and 262 of the organisation's 350 staff without work, according to executive director Manisha Dhakal. She said between 35 and 45 percent of the group's former staffers have since turned to s*x work, since legal employment options for openly transgender people in Nepal are virtually nonexistent outside of NGOs.

Public Health Experts Warn Of Rising HIV Risk

Health experts fear the funding cuts could trigger a spike in HIV prevalence, both among the growing ranks of s*x workers and the broader LGBTQ+ community. Many transgender people have reportedly stopped taking antiretroviral drugs out of fear of discrimination at hospitals, while the high cost of condoms and lubricant has led some to unprotected s*x. PrEP distribution has also been halted for all but pregnant and lactating women.

Dr Sarbesh Sharma, director of Nepal's National Centre for AIDS and STD Control, warned that the fallout extends beyond Nepal's borders given the country's large migrant workforce, overseas student population and open border with India.

Global data released in June by the United Nations agency that fights HIV showed testing had fallen by 22 percent in countries with high infection rates, while funding for condoms had been cut by more than 90 percent in some regions.

Workers Describe Facing Repeated Violence

The Associated Press interviewed 15 aid workers turned s*x workers, nearly all of whom said they had faced violence, including gang rape, since entering the trade. Many described being forced into unprotected s*x, harassment from police, and repeated rejection from other employers once they were identified as transgender.

Lama recalled a client who held a knife to her throat and threatened her unless she complied, an ordeal she managed to escape by warning him of HIV risk and fleeing to a nearby gas station bathroom. Other former colleagues described being raped by multiple men, held at gunpoint, or beaten by police while working the streets.

State Department Response

In a statement to the Associated Press, the US State Department said the Trump administration had refocused its assistance programmes on efficiency, effectiveness and partnership, and noted that the United States still spends more on health and humanitarian assistance than any other country. The department added that "the rest of the world needs to contribute more and share the burden."

Lama, who earns a few dollars a night from clients, says she sees no way off the streets without a new source of income, and continues to return to the same highway where she once tested s*x workers for HIV as part of her old job.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 24, 2026 02:58 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).