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They describe themselves as the "salvage squad". After losing their jobs when international support was slashed recently, a group of devoted staff chose to create their own rescue package.

Refusing to "dwell on sadness", Rob Rosenbaum, along with similarly motivated former agency staff, began endeavors to save some of the vital projects that were threatened with termination after the reductions.

At present, almost 80 projects have been saved by a matchmaking service managed by Rosenbaum and fellow past team members, which has secured them in excess of $110 million in fresh financial support. The collective behind the Project Resource Optimization effort projects it will assist millions of people, encompassing many infants and toddlers.

Following the office shutdown, funds were halted, a large workforce was let go, and international programmes either came to a shuddering halt or were barely continuing toward what Rosenbaum describes as "final deadlines".

The former staffer and some of his colleagues were contacted by a charitable entity that "wanted to determine how they could optimize the utilization of their limited resources".

They developed a selection from the ended initiatives, identifying those "offering the most vital support per dollar" and where a fresh backer could realistically intervene and keep things going.

They quickly realised the need was wider than that first foundation and commenced to contact further funding sources.

"We dubbed ourselves the rescue team at the start," explains Rosenbaum. "The ship has been sinking, and there are insufficient rescue vessels for each programme to board, and so we're attempting to actually protect as many babies as we can, secure spots for these lifeboats as feasible, via the programmes that are providing support."

The project, now working as part of a international policy center, has obtained financial support for 79 projects on its list in in excess of 30 regions. Three have had prior support reinstated. Nine were could not be preserved in time.

Backing has come from a blend of charitable organizations and private benefactors. The majority prefer to stay anonymous.

"They come from very different motivations and viewpoints, but the common thread that we've encountered from them is, 'I feel appalled by what's happening. I truly desire to find a method to intervene,'" says Rosenbaum.

"I think that there was an 'lightbulb moment' for all of us as we started working on this, that this created an possibility to shift from the ice-cream on the couch, wallowing in 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 found funding through the initiative is operations by the Alliance for International Medical Action to deliver care encompassing treatment for severe acute malnutrition, maternity services and vital childhood vaccines in the country.

It is vital to continue these initiatives, says the economist, not only because resuming activities if they ceased would be hugely expensive but also because of how much trust would be forfeited in the zones of instability if the group left.

"They told us […] 'we're very worried that if we withdraw, we may lose our place.'"

Initiatives with extended objectives, such as strengthening health systems, or in other fields such as education, have remained outside the project's focus. It also does not seek to save the projects indefinitely but to "buy time for the groups and, frankly, the larger network, to determine a longer-term solution".

After securing support for each programme on its original roster, the initiative states it will now focus on helping additional individuals with "tested, efficient solutions".