Aid Held Hostage: How Trump’s Expanded Global Gag Rule Weaponizes Foreign Assistance

How can a foreign aid policy that primarily hurts women and children be branded “pro-life”?

March 5, 2026
by Terry McGovern, Sabrina Das and Katherine Hartley

Global maternal and child health is already in crisis. Hundreds of thousands of preventable pregnancy-related deaths occur annually, and progress to address maternal mortality has stalled globally.

Now, the Trump administration’s expanded global gag rule—which took effect last week—will accelerate this already dangerous backslide. They’ve framed the policy as a reaffirmation of “pro-life” values. It is not. It is an ideological intervention into global health that ignores decades of evidence.

Continued: https://msmagazine.com/2026/03/05/global-gag-rule-trump/

05.03.2026

Commentary

child mortality

Doctors Without Borders

How a second Trump presidency is likely to threaten abortion rights and women’s healthcare globally

November 15, 2024
Michael Jennings

In the aftermath of the US election, much focus has been on the consequences for abortion rights across the US, and whether this will affect state-led initiatives to roll back restrictive legislation.

What has received much less attention is what will happen next to abortion services, sexual and reproductive health, and health more widely across many parts of the world, as a direct result of a decision President Trump is likely to take on his first day in office.

Continued: https://theconversation.com/how-a-second-trump-presidency-is-likely-to-threaten-abortion-rights-and-womens-healthcare-globally-243346

Preventing maternal and child mortality: upcoming WHO Resolution must galvanise action to tackle the unacceptable weight of preventable death

Ali Hajji Adam and Mekdes Daba
May 22 2024

Global progress on improving maternal, newborn, and child survival has stalled. Many regions of the world continue to experience persistently high rates of maternal and child mortality, and despite improvements between 2000 and 2015, progress is now stagnating.1 The combination of ongoing and new conflicts, climate change, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic create a perfect storm to drive back any gains that might have been made during the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) era.

The global community is off track from our targets for reducing maternal mortality (SDG 3.1)2 and ending preventable deaths of newborns and children younger than 5 years (SDG 3.2).3 Globally, 287 000 women died from a maternal cause in 2020, averaging 223 deaths of mothers for each livebirth.1 For children younger than 5 years, 4·9 million died globally in 2022, 2·3 million of these in the first month of life.4 In addition, almost 1·9 million babies were stillborn in 2021.5 .

Continued: https://www.ippmedia.com/the-guardian/news/world/read/preventing-maternal-and-child-mortality-upcoming-who-resolution-must-galvanise-action-to-tackle-the-unacceptable-weight-of-preventable-deaths-2024-05-22-173043

22.05.2024

Sustainable Development Goals

World Health Assembly Resolution

World Health Organization

Nepal – COVID taking toll on sexual and reproductive health

RASTRIYA SAMACHAR SAMITI, Nepalnews
2021 DEC 26

COVID-19 is taking its toll on sexual and reproductive health in the country. The global pandemic has thrown up challenges to the government's goals of reducing maternal and child mortality rate while unwanted pregnancy and unsafe abortion have increased due to lack of access to contraceptives and safe abortion services, according to the Department of Health Services under the Family Welfare Division.

The use of contraceptives has dropped to 39.37 per cent during the pandemic. One hundred thirty-four new mothers and pregnant women lost their lives during the infection between March 24 and July 21, 2020, when the country was in lockdown and the number of women who availed safe abortion service during the same period was less than 15,000, according to the Department. Lack of transportation and qualified health workers, excessive bleeding, abortion and labour complication as well as delivery at home were among the factors that led to their death.

Continued: https://www.nepalnews.com/s/issues/covid-taking-toll-on-sexual-and-reproductive-health

Uganda – COVID-19 affects maternal health care

PATRICIA AKANKWATSA, The Independent
July 23, 2021

Uganda’s response to COVID-19 has negatively impacted maternal, child and neonatal health, accord[1]ing to data by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

The UNFPA says the biggest and longest lasting impact is seen in complications of pregnancy, stillbirths and low-birth weight infants likely due to delayed care-seeking behaviour.

Continued: https://www.independent.co.ug/covid-19-affects-maternal-health-care/

India – Covid-19 fuelling mother and child mortality rates

Covid-19 fuelling mother and child mortality rates

Jun 16, 2020
Sanchita Sharma, Hindustantimes

Priyanshi Kol was born in her parent’s one-room hutment in Ansara village in the Rewa district of Madhya Pradesh on May 21 because her mother Shivjanki, 26, couldn’t get an ambulance to reach Sanjay Gandhi Medical Hospital 100 km away.

She died on June 13 from childbirth-related complications. She was 23 days old.

Continued: https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/covid-19-fuelling-mother-and-child-mortality-rates/story-NvmX3Cn7KMqlff77R9BoZN.html