Foreign aid cuts hit women hardest

The Trump administration’s drastic cuts in foreign aid disproportionately harm women across the globe. The Council on Foreign Relations notes that foreign aid dropped 39% last year from 2024, to $38.4 billion. Funding for 2026 is even less at $28.5 billion. The Council says more than 350,000 deaths have been attributed to the cuts since January 2025, when the president signed an executive order freezing foreign aid. The cuts have slashed more than 90% of all maternal, child and reproductive health care assistance, with estimates showing that unless funding is returned to 2024 levels of about $63 billion, women will be denied contraceptives, resulting in more than 17 million unintended pregnancies and more than 34,000 pregnancy-related deaths.