The actions of the US Government are causing serious harm to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) globally, and more threats loom. The gutting of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the apparent freeze and subsequent termination of more than 80% of USAID contracts and grants, including almost all family planning grants, and the defunding of key UN agencies working on SRHR, including UNFPA, WHO, UN Women, and UNAIDS, will have devastating effects on reproductive health programmes, including programmes aimed at reducing maternal mortality and morbidity, particularly in low-income and middle income countries (LMICs).

For context, in 2023 bilateral support from the US Government represented 30% of all global health assistance and 40% of all donor funding for family planning. US assistance of US$607.5 million for global family planning and reproductive health programmes in 2024 served 47·6 million women and couples with modern contraceptive care, and prevented 17.1 million unintended pregnancies, which in turn saved the lives of an estimated 34,000 women and girls who otherwise would have died from complications of pregnancy and childbirth. Within days of taking office, the administration of US President Donald Trump halted this funding, leaving 130,390 women without contraceptive care every day that funding has been denied. The effects will also be devastating to the public health systems that rely on this investment to provide a range of essential health services, including reproductive health care.

Read the full article in The Lancet.