Like many organisations in the humanitarian sector, the Centre for Humanitarian Leadership is facing the consequences of the freeze on foreign aid imposed by the new US Administration.
This freeze is not only affecting our institutions—it’s affecting people—and the greatest impact is being felt in crisis-affected communities, especially those who depend on international aid to survive in already precarious contexts.
In these difficult times, our solidarity goes out to all those affected, and above all, to the people whose lives hang in the balance. This is not about funding cycles or policy debates; it is about life and death. The dismantling of humanitarian capacity and accountability threatens to leave millions without the support they need to survive and recover with dignity.
The decision taken by the Trump administration has led to the suspension of many programs across the humanitarian community, including the CHL programs funded by USAID’s Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance.
For CHL, the funding freeze means that we have been forced to temporarily suspend our francophone programs: the Graduate Certificate of Humanitarian Leadership (Diplôme d’Études Supérieures en Leadership Humanitaire, or DESLH), and the Crisis Leadership Program (Programme de Leadership en situations de Crise). The ongoing work around the ‘Breaking Barriers’ women’s leadership conference held in Dakar, Senegal in 2024, our highly sought-after online mentoring training, and our open-access francophone journal, Le Leader Humanitaire, which is read by thousands of francophone humanitarian practitioners and academics across the world, are also suspended.
Almost 100 per cent of our recent DESLH and PLC students and participants come from West and Central Africa and Haiti, and many work on the frontlines of some of the most complex crises in the world. It is likely that they are feeling the ramifications of the funding freeze not just on their studies, but in a myriad of other ways affecting their organisations, colleagues, families and communities.
We stand in solidarity with our students and facilitators, and we are committed to supporting our current cohort of Diplôme d’Études Supérieures en Leadership Humanitaire (DESLH), to ensure they graduate on time and with full recognition for their studies.
We would like to thank our colleagues, partners, students and participants for their patience, understanding and solidarity. We remain committed to shaping a system that not only elevates local actors but also fosters inclusive leadership, amplifies the agency of affected communities, respects diverse perspectives, and advances social justice. True humanitarian leadership requires us to challenge existing power dynamics, embrace equity, and drive meaningful, lasting change.
Statement attributable to CHL Director, Associate Professor Mary Ana McGlasson, 12 February 2025
Further information
The Diplôme d’Études Supérieures en Leadership Humanitaire (DESLH) is an intensive and challenging postgraduate humanitarian leadership development course. Delivered in French and aimed at humanitarians working in West and Central Africa, the course is accredited by Deakin University, taught by the Centre for Humanitarian Leadership and leads to the award of a Graduate Certificate of Humanitarian Leadership.
Globally, there are few—if any—university-accredited graduate certificates for humanitarian leaders offered in French. The DESLH is therefore a rare and potentially life-altering opportunity for humanitarians in West and Central Africa to engage in a Francophone university-level course designed to recognise and strengthen local capacity and impact for humanitarian action.
Through longitudinal research into the course, its students, and its outcomes, the CHL has found that the DESLH is making a unique and tangible contribution to localisation and humanitarian leadership in West and Central Africa—particularly for women.
The Programme de Leadership en situation de Crise (PLC) is also delivered in French and offers short, practical courses with flexible delivery models to meet the needs of first responders working in crisis response and recovery. Participants gain information to better understand and navigate the disaster response system, as well as develop their own leadership skills. This course has been offered to hundreds of frontline workers since its introduction in 2023.
