The Trump Administration’s Sudden Freeze of Foreign Assistance Will Have Lifelong Consequences For Displaced Women And Girls

In its first week, the Trump administration issued a series of orders and memos that suddenly and immediately block U.S. aid to crisis-affected communities all over the world for at least 90 days. Women, children, and displaced and marginalized people, like always, are suffering first and worst.

By issuing an immediate stop-work order on nearly all foreign assistance, reinstating the global gag rule, and withdrawing from the World Health Organization (WHO), the administration has endangered the lives of millions of women and girls around the world for years to come.

“The Trump administration’s orders to ‘stop work’ and immediately freeze humanitarian assistance means less healthcare, school, housing, and other basic services for millions of women and girls,” said Melanie Nezer, VP for advocacy and external relations at the Women’s Refugee Commission. “Every hour counts in a crisis. In 90 days, lack of access to reproductive care leads to unwanted pregnancies, untreated pregnancy complications kill mothers, and desperate families force daughters into early marriages. This is not about the next 90 days; it’s about a lifetime of consequences for millions of people.”

The United States spends about 1% of the overall federal budget on foreign aid, proportionately less than most other wealthy nations. Yet this contribution has an outsized impact: when women and girls around the world have access to safe shelter, healthcare, education, livelihoods, and protection from gender-based violence and exploitation, everyone benefits, both in local and global communities.

Orders to withdraw the U.S. from WHO and reinstate the global gag rule also have long-term consequences. U.S. funding to WHO has been instrumental in treating and containing communicable fatal diseases and infections, including polio, Ebola, mpox, and COVID19. WHO provides a vital lifeline to hospitals, clinics, and health workers serving on the front lines of crises to support the poorest and most vulnerable communities around the world. Many facilities will be forced to shut down, reversing decades of progress on global health—including maternal and child health—and gender equality.

The administration recently announced a waiver of the stop-work order for “life-saving assistance,” such as medical care, food, and shelter, but stated that this waiver was temporary. Huge questions remain about what this means, and services remain disrupted. Notably, family planning—which is lifesaving for many women and girls—remains excluded. This is no way to operate when so many lives are at stake.

The Women’s Refugee Commission calls for the immediate reversal of the stop-work order and urges Congress to pass the Global Health, Empowerment, and Rights (HER) Act, to permanently repeal the global gag rule. Congress must ensure that the foreign assistance dollars it appropriated are used for their intended purpose. We cannot wait another day: women’s and girls’ lives depend on it.

###