Navigating USAid funding cut in the health sector

Members of the pharmacology department take inventory of the last boxes of drugs delivered by the now-dismantled United States Agency for International Development (USAID) amid medical supply shortages in a pharmacy storeroom at Lodwar County Referral Hospital in Lodwar on April 1, 2025. (Photo by Luis TATO / AFP)

The ripple effect of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funding cut on healthcare including reproductive health advocacy is bound to be felt by women and communities. These groups need reproductive health services, including maternal care, access to safe family planning, gender-based violence pre and post-care, and other lifesaving care.

In many African countries, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and women's rights groups play a key role in advocating for policy and legal reforms to advance women's rights. They are the link between evidence from the community to decision-makers and shape the discourse on reproductive justice.