Amid the global health funding crisis, I often think about the trickle-down effect of the closure of USAID. No matter if some believe the agency was a burden on American taxpayers or not, there is no doubt that the work it accomplished over the decades created measurable change for women and girls, from improved maternal health outcomes to supplemental food programs. Oftentimes, USAID was the awarding agency of many nonprofits that I admire, such as Save the Children and World Vision. I have seen many programs myself that work and have the data to prove it.

Women and girls are always hit hardest in global health crises, not because they are inherently vulnerable, but because our systems make them so. In many low- and middle-income countries, health systems prioritize emergency and acute care while underinvesting in services primarily used by women, such as reproductive, maternal, and newborn health.

When health systems are strained with an automatic cessation of once-relied-upon funds, maternal and reproductive care is often the first to be disrupted. Antenatal visits disappear. Skilled birth attendants are unavailable because they can no longer be paid. Clinics close. What follows is preventable loss of life.

At the same time, women shoulder most unpaid caregiving. During crises, they care for sick relatives, manage households with fewer resources, and delay their own care to keep others alive. Girls are pulled out of school to help at home, increasing risks of early marriage, adolescent pregnancy, and long-term poverty.

Crises also increase gender-based violence, while services meant to protect women and girls are labeled “non-essential” and underfunded. GBV is especially apparent in economic harm, as women and girls are often left at the bottom

This vulnerability isn’t inevitable. It’s the result of policy choice, about funding, priorities, and whose lives we value. If we want resilient health systems, protecting women and girls can’t be an afterthought. It has to be the starting point.

Have you heard of any programs that have been affected due to funding cuts?