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These individuals refer to themselves as the "lifeboat crew". After their sudden termination when foreign assistance underwent reductions in the past months, a group of dedicated staff decided to launch their own support program.

Declining to "dwell on sadness", a former economist, along with like-minded past team members, began endeavors to save some of the crucial projects that faced closure after the reductions.

At present, almost 80 projects have been preserved by a connector platform run by the economist and additional ex- agency employees, which has secured them more than $110 million in recent backing. The collective behind the resource optimization project initiative calculates it will help forty million people, including many children under five.

After the agency closure, spending was frozen, a large workforce was let go, and projects worldwide either came to a shuddering halt or were left limping toward what the leader describes as "final deadlines".

The former staffer and a few co-workers were contacted by a charitable entity that "aimed to figure out how they could maximize the impact of their constrained funds".

They created a list from the terminated programmes, selecting those "providing the most vital support per dollar" and where a fresh backer could realistically step in and continue the work.

They rapidly understood the need was more extensive than that initial organization and started to reach out to other potential donors.

"We dubbed ourselves the emergency squad at the start," explains Rosenbaum. "The organization has been sinking, and there aren't enough lifeboats for every project to be saved, and so we're trying to truly save as many babies as we can, secure spots for these support channels as attainable, via the projects that are providing support."

Pro, now working as part of a global development thinktank, has secured funding for numerous programmes on its roster in more than 30 regions. A few have had prior support restored. A number were could not be preserved in time.

Financial support has come from a combination of charitable organizations and affluent donors. Most choose to be unidentified.

"They originate from varied backgrounds and opinions, but the unifying theme that we've encountered from them is, 'I am horrified by what's unfolding. I really want to find a method to intervene,'" says Rosenbaum.

"In my view that there was an 'eureka moment' for the entire team as we started working on this, that this provided an opportunity to pivot from the passive sadness, remaining in the distress of everything that was unfolding around us, to having something productive to fully engage with."

A specific initiative that has secured support through Pro is operations by the Alliance for International Medical Action to deliver care including care for malnourished children, maternity services and crucial pediatric vaccinations in the West African nation.

It is crucial to keep such programmes going, states the leader, not only because restarting operations if they ceased would be extremely costly but also because of how much reliance would be eroded in the conflict-ravaged areas if the group withdrew.

"Alima told us […] 'there is fear that if we withdraw, we may be unable to return.'"

Initiatives with extended objectives, such as strengthening health systems, or in other fields such as schooling, have been excluded from Pro's work. It also does not aim to maintain initiatives permanently but to "provide a buffer for the entities and, honestly, the larger network, to determine a longer-term solution".

Having found support for every initiative on its first selection, Pro says it will now focus on reaching further populations with "proven, cost-effective interventions".