When U.S. funding stopped, millions lost reproductive healthcare

Your support is what keeps care alive

For decades, the United States was the world’s largest funder of reproductive healthcare and global health programs. That lifeline ended abruptly in January 2025 when Donald Trump again became President of the United States.

The new U.S. administration issued a sweeping stop-work order, dismantled USAID, and slashed more than $9 billion from global health funding.

Almost overnight, clinics closed. Lifesaving medical supplies disappeared. Trusted health workers were sent home.

For the women, girls, and families who rely on reproductive healthcare, the consequences were immediate—and devastating.

Right now, private donors are the difference between care and crisis.

What the loss of U.S. funding means for reproductive healthcare

Across MSI programs, our teams are witnessing confusion, fear, and harm in real time. Demand for contraception, abortion care, and maternal health services hasn’t gone away—it’s grown. But funding cuts strpped away the resources to meet that demand.

• 31 MSI country programs report major disruptions to their national health systems
• Tens of millions of people losing access to contraception
• Partner organizations have closed or sharply reduced services
• Supply chains are collapsing, leaving clinics without contraceptives or medicines

Every statistic represents millions of people who cannot get the care they need—unless others step in.

This is why continued donor support is urgent.

What this looks like in people’s lives

Ethiopia: Reproductive healthcare disappears when U.S. funding disappears

“Ethiopia used to receive the most US assistance in sub-Saharan Africa. MSI used our funding to deliver reproductive health services in areas affected by conflict, where people are dealing with unimaginable violence, war and the loss of their homes. But without funding, we have not been able to continue these services.

Healthcare providers including MSI have been forced to scale back services for young people and remote communities. People are finding their local clinics are closed or operating at reduced hours. Survivors of sexual violence and HIV-positive women can’t access reproductive health and mental health services.

Many people have been affected by these cuts, and we’re doing everything in our power to reach them with the reproductive healthcare they need.”

— Dr. Abebe Shibru, Country Director, MSI Ethiopia

Your support helps reopen doors that the Trump administration slammed shut without warning.

Zimbabwe: Trust broken, care erased

“Our teams travel into remote communities where people have limited healthcare, to offer free contraception and hope. In 2023, USAID awarded us $9 million to deliver this life-changing work.

When the Trump administration came in, the speed at which this program ended meant that we weren’t able to give communities and clients any warning. Vehicles were confiscated and staff contracts ended. Services stopped.

In communities where women had to negotiate with partners to access contraception, many have felt betrayed by the sudden cessation of care, undermining the trust that our teams have built over years.

Despite our best efforts and until we can mobilize more funding, people in our rural communities who want contraception are being left behind.”

— Pester Siraha, Country Director, MSI Zimbabwe

Donor support allows MSI to rebuild trust—and restore care where this administration abruptly took it away.

Kenya: Running out of contraceptives—and time

“The Trump administration’s decision to revoke aid has resulted in Kenyan health workers contracts being terminated, supplies going out of stock, and services being reduced.

A particular challenge has been keeping family planning supply chains running so stocks of contraceptives are available. Current supplies will last less than five months – well below the required 16-month minimum.

Meanwhile, Kenya was one of the countries earmarked to receive some of the $10 million worth of USAID-procured contraceptives that, in another ruthless decision, are stranded in Belgium, intended to be destroyed instead of distributed.

Funding cuts are not just about bottom lines – they are depleting hope and healthcare in our communities. MSI and our local partners are meeting this moment with resilience and finding ways to protect access to supplies and services.”

— Dr. Walter Obita, Country Director, MSI Kenya

Your support helps keep supplies moving and clinics open when governments cannot act fast enough.

The stakes if we do nothing

The fallout from the USAID cuts is only beginning.

By 2030, experts project that up to 100 million people across 41 countries will lose access to contraception. That means:

• More families pushed deeper into poverty
• More women forced toward unsafe abortions
• More preventable maternal deaths
• A generation of lost progress in reproductive health and rights

At the same time, political shifts in the U.S. are emboldening global anti-choice movements. Decisions made in Washington are now shaping healthcare access worldwide.

If donors don’t step forward, the damage will last for generations.

Governments and health systems are trying to adapt. Governments have taken urgent action to increase health budgets and try and build capacity. But the stop-work order and funding cuts were too sudden. People who cannot wait are bearing the consequences of these funding gaps.

Right now, MSI’s priority is clear:

• Keep contraception and abortion care available
• Support frontline healthcare providers
• Protect choice where it is under direct threat

Thousands of MSI healthcare workers are still showing up—often with fewer tools, fewer supplies, and more demand than ever before.

They can only continue with your support.

This is a defining moment for reproductive rights

One year on, the full impact of the USAID cuts has yet to be realized. What is already clear is this: Without immediate and sustained donor support, access to reproductive healthcare will shrink dramatically.

MSI is monitoring, responding, and adapting—but private giving is now essential to holding the line.

At a moment when powerful forces are working to erase reproductive rights, your support says something different: Women deserve care. Choice matters. Lives are worth protecting.

With your gift today, you can ensure that women and girls are not punished for political decisions made far from their communities.

Join us with a gift to the Choice Emergency Fund—and keep reproductive healthcare available where it is needed most.