Saiful Alam (not his real name) built his career in the development sector, working in the finance departments of foreign-funded projects in Dhaka for over 15 years.

But now, at 47, he faces a harsh reality he never anticipated -- abrupt unemployment. With no other income, he and his family may soon be forced to leave the capital, where his two children are enrolled in a reputed school.

He is losing his job as the US Agency for International Development (USAID) has already issued a termination letter for the project he has been working on for the last three years.

"I am currently closing the accounts and preparing final paperwork for submission to the USAID in Washington," Saiful told The Daily Star yesterday. "After that, I'll give myself a month to find another job. If nothing comes up, I'll have no choice but to return to my village."

With more than a decade of experience in development finance, Saiful fears that opportunities in the shrinking sector are scarce.

"My entire career has been in development projects, but the industry is now imploding," he said.

"I don't think I'll find another position in the development sector. And why would a private company hire me at a senior level?" he said.

The prospect of relocating to his village is very real. "It will be extremely difficult for me, my family, and my children to adjust. I have no idea what I will do for a living or where my children will go to school. It's frustrating."

Saiful's plight reflects the broader crisis in the sector. With funding drying up and livelihoods at stake, the future of many in the sector remains uncertain.

I don't think I'll find another position in the development sector. And why would a private company hire me at a senior level?

— Says an NGO professional who is losing his job

He is just one of tens of thousands of development professionals facing joblessness following USAID's decision to cancel the majority of its nearly 100 projects in Bangladesh. These projects, implemented by around 400 NGOs, have long provided employment to thousands and supported critical development initiatives across the country.

Although there is no official data on how many people have lost or may lose their jobs due to the USAID fund cuts, people in the sector estimate the number is between 30,000 and 40,000.

According to diplomatic sources, USAID annually provides between $300 and $400 million to Bangladesh in the areas of health, nutrition, agriculture, livelihood, labour rights, prevention of human trafficking, and democratic development.

However, immediately after the inauguration of Donald Trump as US president on January 20, he ordered suspension of USAID funding and activities funded by the agency globally, except for emergency food supplies including that for the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.

All the American personnel of the USAID office in Bangladesh too have been sent on administrative leave. A section of the personnel are working to send papers to the USAID office in Washington DC.

Some 10,000 contracts between the USAID and NGOs were terminated on February 25 globally, as the Trump administration decided to eliminate more than 90 percent of foreign aid contracts and cut some $60 billion in funding.

Saiful, who has been working for an education project, said they had thought that Trump would cancel projects related to climate change, gender equality and immunisation as his policy does not promote these.

"We were preparing the response to the USAID questions on whether our project is aligned to the current US policy and explain the justification of the project, but received the termination letter before we could send the response... ," he said.

Another development professional, who was also working for a project related to inclusive finance, said frustration and uncertainty have gripped NGO workers in Bangladesh.

It is going to be a challenging time for them, with the USAID terminating projects and the European countries prioritising security funding amid the Trump administration's less interest in supporting Ukraine's war against Russia.

An official of a health-related project said, "Imagine what happens to the poor people benefiting from the projects related to medial support like vaccination."

Noting the termination of more than 1,000 employees by icddr,b following the US decision, he said USAID has also been supporting projects for some essential medicines and birth control materials, which the for-profit companies do not produce.

Many poor people benefit from livelihood and income generation-related projects, and they will find themselves in trouble all, the official said.

Nazma Akter, executive director at Awaz Foundation, said her organisation had been implementing two US-funded projects, which have been terminated, leaving more than two dozen employees jobless.

"We were working to promote workers' rights, supporting labour-related cases. The US government has always been speaking high on labour rights, but now it has stopped supporting this. It only means that the employers have more opportunities to exploit workers," she told The Daily Star.

Contacted, NGO Affairs Bureau Director General Anwar Hossain said he has already discussed the issue with a forum of the NGOs that implement USAID-funded projects.

"Joblessness of a significant number of people is indeed a matter of concern. We are asking the NGOs to absorb the jobless people in other projects – as much as they can do," he told The Daily Star.

Anwar said the bureau was preparing a brief on the impact of the termination of USAID-funded projects for the government.

Several development professionals said the government needs to have a fresh look into how the NGO activities can be implemented.

A health professional said, "The government itself should implement many of the work that NGOs now do with foreign funding, like providing essential birth control materials or immunisation."

Abu Eusuf, professor of development studies at the Dhaka University,  said project-based activities are not often sustainable. "The US decision of terminating funding should be an opportunity for the Bangladesh authorities to learn anew and make themselves self-dependent."

"We should prioritise creation of jobs, promotion of business and skill building of our youths for both local and global labour markets," he said.