As the morning mist dissipated, revealing soaked roads leading to Chitakatira Health Clinic, a determined woman trudged forward, braving each puddle. Her name is Getrude Mucheri, a 35-year-old mother from Zimbabwe, and her expedition was driven by a need as relentless as the rains. She needed to have her expired contraceptive implant removed to receive a new Depo-Provera shot. Yet, much to her dismay, the clinic’s cupboards were bare. Supplies had vanished into thin air.
“Stress is my companion these days,” she lamented, standing under the sagging clinic roof. “I lack the money for birth control pills,” Mucheri, an unemployed mother of four, explained, her voice flavored with quiet desperation. “How can I think of more children when feeding the ones I have is already a struggle?”
The plight of Ms. Mucheri is not hers alone. It echoes in the lives of countless women worldwide, many of whom find themselves ensnared in the consequences of funding cuts rippling through global aid programs. Who would have thought a political decision, continents away, could touch the lives of so many? The decision by former U.S. President Donald Trump to slash support for USAID, a critical contributor to contraceptive access, has indeed created global ripples.
Funding Cuts Threaten Contraceptive Access
Lydia Zigomo, the regional director for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), painted a haunting tableau of the repercussions. In her view, the funding cuts could deliver tectonic shifts. Hundreds of thousands in East and Southern Africa risk losing access to contraception. “What happens when clinics run out of contraceptives and vital maternal medicines within months?” Zigomo pondered aloud in a somber email exchange.
In a region where countries like South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Madagascar grapple with already sky-high maternal mortality rates, the idea of this funding withdrawal seems like a descent into chaos. Zigomo quantified the immediate loss, marking it at a steep $4 million for UNFPA in the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, and Ethiopia alone, a hefty price for nations walking a financial tightrope.
What’s the cost of a disrupted health ecosystem? One might ask. Zigomo posited that the toll would manifest in increased violence against women, maternal mortality, and unintended pregnancies. As she explained, even menstrual hygiene and pregnancy-related care stand poised on the precipice of deterioration. The specter of more sexually transmitted infections and unsafe abortions looms large. “Will this also usher in a rise in child marriage and teen pregnancies as poverty tightens its grip?” she questioned, as one might peer into a cloudy future.
Unsafe Pregnancies and Rising Risks
Pester Siraha, overseeing Population Services Zimbabwe as the country director for MSI Reproductive Choices, did not mince words. “The USAID cuts… it’s like theft of women’s rights. This decision is nothing short of callous,” she asserted. The abrupt nature of the suspension left a wake of confusion and apprehension. Could this sudden halt be justified?
In 2024, USAID had been a pillar, offering up to $360 million for health and agriculture programs in Zimbabwe, a nation where government-backed health care has suffered neglect for generations. Time and again, Zimbabwe’s health budget has fallen short of meeting the Abuja Declaration’s mandate of allocating at least 15% of national budgets to health services.
Zimbabwe’s Deputy Health Minister, Sleiman Kwidini, claimed there was hope on the horizon. With donor money funneled through the National Pharmaceutical Co., the government had been acquiring its own family planning supplies. “Nationwide provision is ongoing,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation, offering a glimmer of reassurance, albeit vague.
Yet Siraha remained skeptical. “Over half of our funding came from USAID,” she argued, her voice laden with concern. “Without it, the result is unplanned pregnancies that can spiral into unsafe abortions and rise in maternal mortality.” Siraha pointed out the ominous chain reaction: teenage pregnancies leading to education disruption and the resulting domino effect.
Jobs Lost, Hopes Dashed
The impact of the aid cuts spirals beyond health; it snatches livelihoods. Thousands of health workers, many waking one January morning to WhatsApp messages that terminated their jobs. A single mother of two, preferring anonymity, recounted a typical hardship narrative. “One evening, I was employed. The next, I wasn’t,” she recalled wistfully. Her role at a USAID-funded nonprofit had disappeared overnight. “I signed for unpaid leave, relying on my last earnings to keep us afloat,” she shared, finding herself venturing into minor trades to meet ends.
Ekenia Chifamba, at the helm of Shamwari Yemwanasikana, a community-centric advocate for girls’ rights, echoed a sentiment many shared. “The cuts are insufferable. Entire families bear the brunt,” she reflected, her words laced with frustration.
Yet, amidst the chaos, Zigomo hinted at avenues yet unexplored. UNFPA searched high and low for alternative backers, appealing to national governments and nudging the private sector and philanthropic entities for support. Civil society groups and local activists were urged to champion the cause, fueling a push for indigenous solutions and funding avenues.
Alas, the odds seemed daunting. Zigomo acknowledged a stark reality. “Most countries in East and Southern Africa may scarcely fill these chasms in the short term.” The urgency remains vivid: sustainable, reliable funding is crucial to halt a regression in women’s health progress.
Edited By Ali Musa
Axadle Times international–Monitoring
