New York/Washington/Africa/Afghanistan — The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has confirmed that the United States has cut nearly all of its funding grants, a move that will severely impact lifesaving humanitarian support for women and girls globally.
At 7 p.m. on February 26, UNFPA was informed that 48 of its grants with USAID and the US State Department had been terminated, the UN agency announced in a statement.
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“This decision will have devastating impacts on women and girls and the health and aid workers who serve them in the world’s worst humanitarian crises,” UNFPA warned.
Essential Healthcare at Risk
The USAID grants were designated to provide critical maternal healthcare, protection from violence, rape treatment, and other lifesaving care in humanitarian settings.
UNFPA’s programs aim to prevent maternal deaths, ensure safe childbirth, and address gender-based violence in crisis regions, including Gaza, Sudan, and Ukraine.
The organization partners with 150 countries to offer a wide range of sexual and reproductive health services, with a core mission of eliminating unmet family planning needs, preventable maternal deaths, and gender-based violence by 2030.
“These termination notices include grants for which we had previously received humanitarian waivers, as they were considered lifesaving interventions for the world’s most vulnerable women and girls,” UNFPA stated.
The cuts will impact humanitarian programs in countries such as Afghanistan, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Haiti, Mali, Sudan, Syria and its neighboring regions, as well as Ukraine.
Global Backlash and Humanitarian Concerns
The funding cuts come amid broader reductions in US support for humanitarian organizations since late January, leaving millions in jeopardy. UN agencies such as UNAIDS and UNFPA, which provide critical services and supplies, have been particularly affected.
UNFPA has been defunded several times by previous US administrations under accusations of supporting coercive abortion or forced sterilization—claims refuted by independent investigations, past US administrations, and UN leadership.
“The mandate of UNFPA is in fact the opposite of this allegation – to secure rights and choices for all,” the agency reaffirmed.
Since UNFPA relies entirely on voluntary donations from governments, intergovernmental organizations, foundations, the private sector, and individuals, the abrupt withdrawal of US funding poses an existential threat to its mission.
‘We Will See Lives Lost’
Health experts have also raised concerns over the future of longstanding HIV programs in Africa, particularly those funded under the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). Initiated by President George W. Bush in 2003, PEPFAR is credited with saving over 26 million lives worldwide.
In South Africa, which operates the world’s largest HIV treatment program with support from USAID, health groups have warned of a crisis. The country provides treatment to 5.5 million people, and US funding cuts will have dire consequences.
“We will see lives lost,” said Professor Linda-Gail Bekker, director of the Desmond Tutu HIV Center. The center has been instrumental in groundbreaking HIV research, including studies that led to the development of an injectable drug to prevent HIV infections—funding for which has now been lost.
“We are going to see this epidemic walk back because of this,” Bekker added.
Health organizations have condemned the US government’s decision, accusing it of abandoning the world’s most vulnerable populations in South Africa and beyond.
As the global community reacts to the US funding cuts, the future of essential humanitarian programs remains uncertain, with dire implications for the millions who depend on them.
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