Statement by UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem on the United States Government funding cuts

UNITED NATIONS, New York, 28 February 2025

UNFPA, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency, notes with deep regret the termination of all funding agreements by the United States Government. These 48 grants, totalling approximately $377 million, were awarded for UNFPA to provide critical maternal health care, protection from violence, rape treatment and other life-saving care in over 25 crisis-stricken countries, including Afghanistan, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gaza, Haiti, Mali, Sudan, Syria and Ukraine.

The vast majority of US funding supported UNFPA’s work in emergency settings. The termination includes 16 grants for which UNFPA had received a humanitarian waiver.

Over the last four years, these life-saving investments prevented more than 17,000 maternal deaths, 9 million unintended pregnancies and nearly 3 million unsafe abortions by expanding access to voluntary family planning. And we reached over 13 million women and young people with sexual and reproductive health services like cervical cancer screening, contraception counselling, and prenatal and safe childbirth care. 

This devastating decision will force thousands of health clinics to close. Women in crisis zones will be forced to give birth without medicines, midwives or equipment, putting their lives and their babies’ lives in jeopardy. Rape survivors will be denied counselling and medical care. Midwives delivering babies in the world’s worst humanitarian crises will lose their ability to function. Shipments of life-saving medical supplies to refugee camps will be disrupted.

UNFPA hopes that the US Government will reconsider its stance and retain its position as a global leader working in partnership with UNFPA to alleviate the suffering of women and their families, often as a result of catastrophes not of their own making.

So much good has been achieved during our more than five decades of close collaboration with the USA, a founding partner. With US support, UNFPA has helped strengthen health systems, save the lives of women, adolescent girls and newborns, and improve the economic prospects of families, communities and countries. 

Countless studies show that investments in voluntary family planning and reproductive health lead to hundreds of billions in economic returns as girls continue their education and women rise through the workforce. This, in turn, contributes to the peace and prosperity people in the United States and around the world depend on.

As committed humanitarians and human rights defenders, we at UNFPA will continue to work tirelessly with Member States, UN agencies and local partners, including women and youth-led organizations, to ensure the safety, dignity and freedom of every woman and girl. While circumstances and funding decisions may vary, our mandate and mission remain.

Image credit: ©UNFPA Nigeria/Dawali David Exodus

About UNFPA

UNFPA is the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency. UNFPA's mission is to deliver a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person's potential is fulfilled. UNFPA calls for the realization of reproductive rights for all and supports access to a wide range of sexual and reproductive health services, including voluntary family planning, quality maternal health care and comprehensive sexuality education.