The Partnership for Maternal Newborn and Child Health (PMNCH) recently conducted a snap survey of 20 of its partners to measure the deleterious effects of the funding crisis on global health programs. As expected, the decrease in funding has caused the immediate closure of health programs in lower-and-middle income countries. There is also a severe decrease in frontline health programs and training. Additionally, long held community programs are being replaced with short-term projects. This is important because short-term projects sow distrust in the community. 

“Adolescent Health and Well-being programmes have had to be scaled back due to resource constraints… donor funding has shifted away from long-term, community-based engagement to shorter-term, outcome-specific projects,” one respondent said.

Some of the key findings from the survey include:

•  89% of partners faced reduced or uncertain funding in the past year.
• 81% report moderate to severe impacts on advancing WCAH goals.
• 62% downsized their programs, 37% temporarily suspended activities, and 19% permanently closed initiatives.
• 79% cite flexible, core funding as the top need to navigate global uncertainty.

The global funding crisis caused in part by the America First Global Health Strategy is stripping funding for adolescent sexual and reproductive health and maternal and newborn care. Not only does the dearth in funding cause an increase in poor health outcomes, it also puts healthcare programs from closing immediately. 

“This is not just a financial crisis—it’s a human one,” said Rajat Khosla, Executive Director at PMNCH. “As funding dries up, frontline organizations are being forced to scale back or suspend services that millions of women and children depend on. The world cannot afford to lose this momentum.”

One PMNCH partner explained that “mobile clinics [have been] cut from three days to one – fewer pregnant women reached; vaccinations interrupted” while another shared that “training [has been] halted. Staff laid off overnight. Months of trust building set back in a day.”

The global funding crisis in global health comes at a moment when emerging threats demand more collective action. Without renewed commitments, the world risks backsliding on disease control, losing future lives and economic stability including not making desired strides toward the Sustainble Development Goals (SDGs). Investing in global health is not charity, it is security, economic resilience, and a moral obligation to protect human wellbeing everywhere.

PMNCH’s Call to Action

PMNCH is calling on donors, policymakers, and global leaders to protect and expand financing for women’s, children’s, and adolescents’ health, and to prioritize flexible, long-term funding that enables local organizations to adapt quickly and respond to evolving crises.