When Donald Trump's second presidential term began in January 2025, organisations dedicated to women's rights and global healthcare braced for impact. Few, however, anticipated the sheer scale and speed of the policy onslaught that followed. A barrage of executive orders from the White House created a state of global panic and confusion, setting the stage for a year of profound regression in sexual and reproductive health rights worldwide.
The Dismantling of Global Health Aid
The most catastrophic blow landed in March. After a six-week freeze that caused international turmoil, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that 83% of USAID's programmes would be eliminated. This was not merely a budgetary cut; rights defenders labelled it a savage attack on human rights, family planning, and reproductive care. The move was widely condemned by US diplomats, former presidents, and health experts, who warned it would lead directly to loss of life.
The repercussions were swift and severe. The United Kingdom and the Netherlands, the next largest funders of family planning aid after the US, soon announced their own cuts. Nick Dearden, director of Global Justice Now, argued that Prime Minister Keir Starmer's decision to slash roughly £6 billion from overseas assistance was a move to appease the Trump administration. By year's end, data indicated hundreds of thousands had already died from preventable disease, starvation, lack of maternal care, and gender-based violence, with millions more at risk.
Ideological Attacks and the 'Anti-Rights' Surge
The US administration's actions were amplified by a coordinated, well-funded anti-rights movement. This global network, comprising ultra-conservative groups, religious institutions, and political allies, worked to roll back progress on abortion, LGBTQ+ rights, and comprehensive sexuality education.
In March, as the UN Women summit convened in New York, several Christian-right organisations held a parallel conference at an upmarket hotel. They strategised on defeating the UN's "radical agenda," buoyed by Trump's policy shifts. Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General António Guterres opened the official summit with a stark warning about the resurgence of "the poison of patriarchy."
The movement's influence was particularly visible in Africa over the summer. Conferences in Uganda and Kenya, such as the Pan-African Conference on Family Values in Nairobi, were attended by leading US and European anti-rights figures. These included Sharon Slater of Family Watch International and Austin Ruse of C-Fam, who urged African NGOs to resist what they called the "radical global social engineering" of the UN and EU.
From Contraceptive Destruction to the Expanded Global Gag Rule
The ideological assault took its most visceral form in July. As clinics across sub-Saharan Africa reported critical shortages of contraceptives and emergency kits for rape survivors, the US announced plans to destroy $10 million worth of contraceptives stored in a Belgian warehouse. The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) stated this would deny supplies to over 1.4 million women and girls, leading to an estimated 174,000 unintended pregnancies and 56,000 unsafe abortions. Médecins Sans Frontières called the plan "callous" and "reckless." Despite offers from NGOs to purchase the supplies, the US refused.
The policy offensive culminated in October with the dramatic expansion of the "Global Gag Rule." While its reinstatement in January was expected, the new iteration extended far beyond NGOs. The rule now threatened to cut US aid to governments and multilateral organisations that support or advocate for abortion services, and was expanded to cover diversity programmes. Rajat Khosla of the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health warned of "unimaginable effects," with campaigners fearing new US aid packages would become conditional on accepting these terms.
The year 2025 has been defined by a deliberate and coordinated dismantling of decades of progress in women's health and rights. The defunding of USAID, the rise of transnational anti-rights alliances, and the weaponisation of aid policy have created a perfect storm, leaving the world's most vulnerable women and girls to bear the brunt of an ideological war waged from Washington and beyond.
