Newborn deaths have surged by more than 80 per cent among the world’s most vulnerable communities in sub-Saharan Africa, following significant cuts to global aid, including by the UK and US. Data from the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) shows that neonatal mortality rose by 81 per cent between 2025 and 2026, from 3.1 to 5.6 deaths per 1,000 live births, across more than three million refugee women in 20 nations.
While the agency notes that the data does not establish the cause, or that aid cuts were the sole factor behind the rise, it does indicate that indicators of child survival are worsening. Deaths within the first year of life have also increased by 111 per cent, from 8.3 to 17.5 deaths per 1,000 live births. Mortality for children under five also rose by 50 per cent.
The grim picture of maternal and child health across Africa is attributed to sweeping cuts to international aid and the lifesaving programmes it funded. There are increasing fears among those working in the development sector that years of progress in reducing maternal and newborn deaths could be reversed by the steep decline in international aid.
Dr Mitchell Sangma, a health advisor at Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), stated that global maternal mortality trends already show where women’s lives are most at risk, and sub-Saharan Africa remains at the centre of this crisis. Countries depend heavily on external humanitarian and health system support to keep essential services running, and when those lifelines are cut without health authorities stepping up, the consequences are predictable.
In Nigeria, 386 health facilities and mobile clinics closed during 2025 and early 2026, cutting off care for around 380,000 people. Meanwhile, more than 100,000 people lost access to essential health services in the Central African Republic. Both countries are featured in a new documentary that exposes how efforts to stop women and babies dying in childbirth have been blunted, with aid cuts playing a significant role.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has projected that official development assistance for health could fall by between 29 and 46 per cent between 2024 and 2026, equivalent to between $5bn and $8bn. Funding for population and reproductive health, including HIV and sexually transmitted infection programmes, is expected to fall by as much as 54 per cent.
A study published in March estimated that the Trump administration’s aid cuts could increase maternal mortality by an average of 45 per cent across six countries. The researchers projected around 1,000 additional maternal deaths per 100,000 live births across the six countries within a single year.
Sarah Shaw, of advocacy group MSI Reproductive Choices, stated that the world has made remarkable progress in reducing maternal deaths over the past two decades, proving that these deaths are not inevitable when women can access quality healthcare. However, cuts to global health funding, alongside conflict and displacement, are making it harder for women to access essential reproductive services.
In Somalia, CARE International says that it has been forced to close 50 of the 80 health and nutrition centres it supported because of funding shortfalls, with another 15 due to shut by October. They are already seeing a spike in severe malnutrition, in a country that has one of the highest maternal mortality ratios in the world.
Save The Children estimates that Somalia also faces a shortage of around 20,000 midwives, while some hospital staff have faced up to a 90 per cent reduction in salaries, which has left midwives around the country effectively volunteering to keep services running. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said the shortfall of midwives could reach between 690,000 and 830,000 by 2030, with Africa bearing the brunt of the burden.
The findings have renewed calls across the political spectrum for the UK to reverse cuts to the overseas aid budget, which will fall from 0.5 to 0.3 per cent of Gross National Income through to 2029. Nine African countries are set to see their UK bilateral aid cut by more than 80 per cent, while overall bilateral UK aid to African countries is set to fall from £1.6bn to under £700m.
Sarah Champion, chair of parliament’s International Development Committee and a Labour MP, stated that the Trump administration has politicised maternal and sexual health, and that the UK has been very clear on its focus on women and girls, but these stark findings show that is just not the reality on the ground.
Unless the international community comes together to support low-income countries, the situation will only get worse. Andrew Mitchell, a former international development secretary and Conservative MP, added that these figures lay bare the appalling effects of these cuts and the damage to the most vulnerable as well as to Britain’s reputation.
Monica Harding, the Liberal Democrat spokesperson for international development, called on the new prime minister to take decisive action to prevent further tragic loss of life. The government cannot claim to be empowering women and girls around the world while pushing on with immoral and strategically illiterate aid cuts, gutting the basic healthcare, life-saving protection, and maternal services keeping them and their babies alive.
Aid organisations have warned that women and newborns are likely to bear the heaviest burden, as maternal healthcare, emergency obstetric services and reproductive health programmes are among those most affected. Projections published in The Lancet suggested that reductions in foreign aid could contribute to 23 million additional deaths across 93 low- and middle-income countries by 2030.
We know how to prevent the majority of maternal deaths, what we need is political will and international co-operation. Every cut to aid is putting more mothers and babies at risk, and world leaders must act now to protect maternal health and ensure mothers can access the care they need.
