U.S. aid cuts trigger surge in maternal and infant deaths in rural Nepal

A U.S. decision to slash foreign aid funding eliminated a multi-year program that had reached over 100,000 women in Nepal, providing fortified food, birth kits and regular home visits by female community health volunteers. Since the cuts, prenatal check-ups in Rautahat district have dropped dramatically, and several villages report a return of newborn deaths that had vanished for years. Health officials and aid groups attribute the increase in maternal complications, such as severe anemia and pre-eclampsia, to the loss of nutrition supplements and early-warning education.

The U.S. State Department maintains that it still funds maternal-child health projects in Nepal, but on-the-ground accounts describe a stark rise in preventable deaths. Experts warn that similar funding reductions worldwide could reverse decades of progress in child survival.