USAID fallout: In Nepal, when the aid workers stopped coming, the women and babies started dying

GAUR, Nepal (AP) — When the USAID aid workers stopped visiting her village in rural Nepal, young mother Kabita Mukhiya's life began a tragic decline. For weeks, she suffered in agony, unable to seek help from the aid workers who had vanished due to U.S. funding cuts. Kabita, uneducated and impoverished, turned to her aunt for assistance, who eventually rushed her to the hospital.

Tragically, both women learned the grim news: their baby had died, and Kabita's own life was now in jeopardy. This example of women's health suffering is a stark reminder of the consequences of global foreign aid cuts. As the Gates Foundation predicts that 2025 will see an increase in child deaths due to decreased aid, health officials are on high alert.

The U.S. government insists it has no direct responsibility for these deaths, but evidence shows otherwise, with the AP documenting similar stories in countries like Myanmar and Nigeria. The U.S. State Department claims to have reinvigorated its assistance programs, yet the impact of cuts in countries like Nepal is already evident.

Nutrition and reproductive outreach programs have led to increased pregnancy complications and deaths, with the number of maternal and child health program deaths within a year now occurring in just four to six months. Despite their low cost, programs such as fortified peanut paste and clean birth kits have proven incredibly effective in saving lives, as demonstrated by Nepal's canceled $35 million program that reached over 100,000 women and girls.