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The group describe themselves as the "emergency rescue team". Following their sudden termination when international support faced cuts in the past months, a team of devoted workers decided to launch their own rescue package.

Refusing to "dwell on sadness", Rob Rosenbaum, along with equally dedicated past team members, began efforts to save some of the vital programmes that faced closure after the funding decreases.

Currently, almost 80 programmes have been preserved by a connector platform run by the economist and additional ex- team members, which has obtained them more than $110 million in new funding. The team behind the Project Resource Optimization program calculates it will help 40 million people, covering many young kids.

After the office shutdown, financial flows stopped, a large workforce was let go, and projects worldwide either ended suddenly or were struggling toward what the leader terms "final deadlines".

Rosenbaum and some of his colleagues were contacted by a foundation that "aimed to figure out how they could make the best use of their finite budgets".

They built a selection from the terminated programmes, selecting those "providing the most life-saving aid per dollar" and where a fresh backer could feasibly intervene and keep things going.

They quickly understood the demand was more extensive than that initial entity and commenced to approach further funding sources.

"We dubbed ourselves the rescue team at the beginning," states Rosenbaum. "The organization has been collapsing, and there are too few rescue vessels for each programme to be saved, and so we're trying to actually rescue as many babies as we can, secure spots for these support channels as feasible, via the programmes that are offering assistance."

The project, now working as part of a international policy center, has obtained financial support for 79 projects on its roster in in excess of 30 regions. A few have had initial backing reinstated. A number were could not be preserved in time.

Funding has been provided by a mix of philanthropic foundations and affluent donors. Most prefer to stay anonymous.

"They stem from varied motivations and viewpoints, but the common thread that we've received from them is, 'I feel horrified by what's going on. I truly desire to figure out a way to step in,'" says the leader.

"I think that there was an 'eureka moment' for the entire team as we commenced efforts on this, that this provided an chance to transition from the inactivity and despair, wallowing in the misery of everything that was unfolding around us, to having something productive to deeply commit to."

One project that has secured support through the effort is activities by the Alliance for International Medical Action to provide services encompassing nutritional rehabilitation, maternity services and essential immunizations for kids in the West African nation.

It is crucial to keep such programmes going, explains the economist, not only because reinitiating work if they ended would be prohibitively pricey but also because of how much confidence would be lost in the zones of instability if the organization left.

"They told us […] 'we're very worried that if we withdraw, we may be unable to return.'"

Initiatives with extended objectives, such as improving medical infrastructure, or in additional areas such as learning, have remained outside the initiative's scope. It also does not aim to save the projects indefinitely but to "create a window for the organizations and, honestly, the larger network, to devise a permanent resolution".

After securing support for all projects on its initial list, the team says it will now focus on helping more people with "proven, cost-effective interventions".