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

30 replies

IwantToRetire · 01/03/2025 01:56

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 per cent of the health budget.

“For us, [the freeze] means losing $14 million in funding… it’s absolute chaos,” Ms Shaw told the audience at the Frontline Club in London, which included NHS doctors, healthcare providers, researchers in reproductive rights, advocates, and journalists.

“The thing about the stop-work order – definitely for our teams in Zimbabwe – is that they literally have to stop. That’s it. We are done. They haven’t even been able to warn the communities that they’re working with that the mobile teams are not going to come out next time,” she said.

“Because no one is providing services now, entire health systems have just ground to a halt.”

Article continues at https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/trump-usaid-abortion-contraception-b2706614.html

OP posts:
DogDaysNeverEnd · 01/03/2025 08:46

In that case @TheywontletmehavethenameIwant have a read of this: https://theconversation.com/as-trump-tries-to-slash-us-foreign-aid-here-are-3-common-myths-many-americans-mistakenly-believe-about-it-248979

Aid is not the reason for debt. And again, aid keeps people where they are, it prevents wars and props up markets in rich countries.

DogDaysNeverEnd · 01/03/2025 08:41

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/die-hammer-drops-usaid-organizations-left-reeling/story?id=119282429

For the last month the big NGOs have been quiet as they hoped keeping their heads down and not poking the bear would mean sense would be seen and we'd be back up after the spurious "review". They were very wrong.

TheywontletmehavethenameIwant · 01/03/2025 08:40

I'm amazed at how much the USA has been funding for all these years, no wonder the country's in debt.

DogDaysNeverEnd · 01/03/2025 08:30

It got a lot worse this week, the Indie reporting is out of date. Over 10,000 international programmes have been terminated including those providing health care, education, water, sanitation, food and anything else you can think off. Only a tiny number remain in place. It's off the scale destruction of international aid. I know because I work(ed) on one of them and we have been cancelled.

Time to be honest, aid is not altruistic. It's soft power but also it keeps people in their place. Imagine if you have no food or water... will you stay where you are and die or will you move to somewhere you think you might be able to access it/appeal for it? So watch out for the famines and mass movements seen on TV in the 80's.

Further, much aid props up markets in high income countries. Much of the grain suppliesd by USAID comes from the USA, from farmers paid to grow it. They are not planting because their contracts have been cancelled. So, there will be less food even when people do move to find it.

Maybe it would be OK if the rest of the world stepped up to fill the funding gap? Well, the UK just announced aid cuts, as did the Netherlands and probably more will follow to appease the "charity starts at home" lot. Ridiculously aid is another side of the defence coin, less defence is needed if people have the basics to live and don't go to war for them. So it makes no sense to rob one to pay for the other.

But countries are secretly rich and have no need for aid! Sure, some have very unequal distribution of finances and could be doing more. A lot of "aid" is actually tied to government reform and better management though with the intention of incremental improvements and standard setting. Still, some countries could do more, but it takes time to set up these programmes, train staff, buy grain, build health care centres etc. Stopping overnight is wilful destruction. There is no way to pick up the pieces. Trump and Musk have signed the death warrants of more people than any modern war would result in.

I'm quite angry. And helpless. There is some push back in the USA but how to fight crazy when they either own or ignore the judiciary?

WandaSiri · 01/03/2025 08:14

So irresponsible.

I don't argue with the aim of making sure that aid is directed at worthwhile projects and money is not being wasted or used for improper purposes, but they are throwing the baby out with the bathwater and landing some honest people with financial liabilities which they only took on because they had been promised support. People in poor countries are losing their livelihood.

I can't believe DOGE doesn't have the resources to do the hard, boring but necessary work of examining what the projects are and weeding out the bad while letting the good flourish. Big mistake as well as an unethical way to do this. It's Trump's prerogative to cut all these projects but - except where there is clear, strong evidence of criminal activity - the very least DOGE owed these people is a transition period.