The progress made in reducing maternal mortality is now at risk, as the Trump administration’s cuts to U.S. foreign aid threaten to reverse years of hard-earned gains.
“Women today are more likely to survive childbirth than ever,” the WHO said. Yet they now warn of a threat of major backsliding.
“These cuts have led to facility closures and loss of health workers,” the United Nations noted. “They’ve disrupted supply chains for lifesaving supplies and medicines such as treatments for hemorrhage, pre-eclampsia, and malaria, all leading causes of maternal deaths.”
On his first day back in office, Donald Trump froze all foreign aid for 90 days. USAID was gutted shortly after.
“Eighty-three percent of USAID contracts have been canceled,” said Secretary of State Marco Rubio. By March, nearly 900 employees had been terminated.
“The dismantling of the agency has dramatically disrupted services,” said Jennifer Kates of KFF. Family planning clinics shut their doors. Birth control supplies ran dry. Guttmacher estimated that 912,000 women and girls were denied care in the first week alone.
Rachel Clement of PAI said, “When we talk about maternal mortality, we are talking about girls. Girls whose bodies are not ready to be pregnant.”
USAID warned that 16.8 million pregnant women in 48 countries would lose access to care. “A permanent halt would mean many of these supply chains will collapse.”
The WHO calls it a severe impact. The memo projected that 8,340 pregnant people would die. Nicholas Enrich, who sounded the alarm, was placed on leave.
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