Reproductive health in developing countries in ‘chaos’ after Trump aid freeze

Donald Trump’s 90-day freeze on foreign aid has caused “absolute chaos” on the ground in developing countries, with vital reproductive health services being forced to halt treatment, charities have warned.

Immediately after his inauguration in January, US President Donald Trump announced an immediate 90-day freeze on all USAID including family planning, which, amounts annually to over $600 million, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a leading reproductive health policy organisation.

That will mean an estimated 11.7 million women and girls losing access to contraception, resulting in 4.2 million unintended pregnancies and, 8,340 maternal deaths, as well as a surge in unsafe abortions, according to Marie Stopes International, a non-governmental organisation providing contraception and safe abortion services in 37 countries around the world.

Speaking during a panel event at the London premiere of The A-Word, The Independent’s documentary about reproductive rights in America, Sarah Shaw, MSI associate director of advocacy, said in some developing countries USAID funding accounts for almost 70% of the health budget.

For every week without USAID, nearly one million women and girls worldwide are denied contraceptive care, according to analysis from the Guttmacher Institute.

Shaw describes how right now, $150 million worth of sexual and reproductive health essential medicines are sitting in warehouses in countries with extremely high needs.

“There is literally no way of getting that stock from the warehouse into the clinics because the distribution systems have all ground to a halt because the US government didn’t just fund services, it funded the health infrastructure,” she added.

Read full story

Source: The Independent. 28 February 2025