What's happened
A BMJ Public Health study shows that Donald Trump’s 2025 aid cuts disrupted health and humanitarian systems, disproportionately affecting women, girls and marginalised groups. SRHR, HIV treatment and services for LGBTQ+ people, sex workers and migrants have been disrupted; frontline staff have quit, worsened nutrition care, and more vulnerable populations face increased risk. The UK’s planned aid reductions and the DRC Ebola outbreak are cited as compounding factors.
What's behind the headline?
Key questions for readers
- What has changed in global health funding and governance?
- Who bears the cost of aid cuts, and how is this being felt on the ground?
What the article shows
- The study finds a systems-level shock with a deeply human cost, particularly for pregnant women, adolescents, and people living with HIV.
- Frontline staff quitting worsens nutrition and HIV programmes at grassroots NGOs.
Outlook
- Readers should watch for diversified health financing and stronger domestic preparedness as responses to funding shocks.
- Policy shifts in the UK and Europe are crucial, given their stated reductions.
How we got here
The BMJ Public Health study investigates the initial freeze in funding from February to March 2025, drawing on NGO interviews in Nepal, Kenya and Colombia. Researchers say the disruption reveals structural weaknesses in global health financing and governance and calls for diversified funding and stronger domestic preparedness. The context includes the US dismantling USAID after the president returned to office and European donors cutting aid in recent years.
Our analysis
Independent reports on the BMJ Public Health study, with corroboration from NGOs and international organisations. Additional context from All Africa and related outlets corroborates ongoing funding concerns and regional impacts.
Go deeper
- What provisions exist to shield SRHR services from funding shocks?
- How are NGOs adapting to dwindling aid in Asia and Africa?
- What should readers know about changes to aid policy in the UK and EU?