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These individuals refer to themselves as the "lifeboat crew". Following being let go when foreign assistance was slashed earlier this year, a group of committed workers decided to launch their own emergency initiative.

Choosing not to "dwell on sadness", Rob Rosenbaum, along with similarly motivated past team members, began efforts to save some of the vital initiatives that were threatened with termination after the reductions.

At present, almost 80 projects have been saved by a connector platform run by the economist and other former aid staff, which has found them in excess of $110 million in new funding. The team behind the Pro effort projects it will assist millions of people, encompassing many infants and toddlers.

After the office shutdown, financial flows stopped, thousands of employees were laid off, and international programmes either ended suddenly or were struggling toward what the economist describes as "drop-dead dates".

He and some of his colleagues were contacted by a foundation that "sought to understand how they could make the best use of their limited resources".

They developed a selection from the ended initiatives, identifying those "offering the most life-saving aid per dollar" and where a new funder could feasibly intervene and maintain operations.

They soon understood the need was broader than that initial foundation and started to approach further funding sources.

"We called ourselves the emergency squad at the outset," states the economist. "The vessel has been failing, and there are too few lifeboats for every project to get on, and so we're trying to truly save as many babies as we can, secure spots for these rescue options as possible, via the projects that are delivering aid."

The initiative, now working as part of a global development thinktank, has obtained financial support for numerous programmes on its roster in over thirty countries. Several have had initial backing restored. A number were could not be preserved in time.

Financial support has originated from a combination of philanthropic foundations and private benefactors. Most prefer to stay anonymous.

"They originate from diverse backgrounds and opinions, but the unifying theme that we've heard from them is, 'I am shocked by what's going on. I truly desire to discover an approach to step in,'" explains the economist.

"In my view that there was an 'aha moment' for all of us as we started working on this, that this created an chance to shift from the inactivity and despair, dwelling on the misery of everything that was happening around us, to having a constructive endeavor to really sink our teeth into."

An example programme that has obtained support through the initiative is work by the Alliance for International Medical Action to provide services such as care for malnourished children, prenatal and postnatal support and crucial pediatric vaccinations in Mali.

It is vital to maintain these operations, says the economist, not only because reinitiating work if they ceased would be hugely expensive but also because of how much confidence would be forfeited in the war-torn regions if the group pulled out.

"They informed us […] 'there is fear that if we depart, we may never be invited back.'"

Projects with longer-term goals, such as bolstering healthcare networks, or in additional areas such as schooling, have remained outside the project's focus. It also is not trying to save the projects indefinitely but to "buy time for the organizations and, frankly, the wider community, to devise a longer-term solution".

Having found support for all projects on its original roster, Pro announces it will now focus on reaching additional individuals with "tested, efficient solutions".