Broken Promises: The USA Foreign Aid Freeze Threatens Women's, Children's, and Adolescents' Health

Abstract

In The Lancet, we present a concerning picture of progress in improving reproductive, maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health (RMNCAH) and nutrition, characterised by a marked slowdown since the 2016 launch of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Our analysis in the 2025 report of the Lancet Countdown to 2030 for women's, children's, and adolescents' health identifies multiple internal and external threats to progress and highlights the widening gap between sub-Saharan Africa and other regions.