US Halts Funding for UNFPA, Impacting Humanitarian Aid for Women and Girls
On February 26 at 7 PM, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) received notification that nearly all of its grants—48 in total—funded by USAID and the US State Department had been terminated.
In a statement, the UN agency warned that the decision would have severe consequences for women, girls, and humanitarian workers providing critical care in some of the world’s most crisis-affected regions.
The USAID grants supported essential services such as maternal healthcare, protection against gender-based violence, and emergency medical treatment for rape survivors in humanitarian settings. The funding also contributed to efforts to reduce maternal deaths, ensure safe childbirth, and support women impacted by violence in conflict zones like Gaza, Sudan, and Ukraine.
Global Impact: From Afghanistan to Ukraine
UNFPA collaborates with 150 countries to provide access to sexual and reproductive health services, with an overarching mission to eliminate unmet family planning needs, prevent maternal deaths, and combat gender-based violence by 2030.
The agency emphasized that even programs classified as lifesaving humanitarian interventions—which previously received exemptions—were included in the funding cuts.
These programs operated in Afghanistan, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Mali, Sudan, Syria and its neighboring countries, as well as Ukraine, among others.
The sudden halt in funding raises concerns about the future of critical health services for the most vulnerable women and girls in conflict zones and disaster-affected regions worldwide.
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