As Western governments slash billions in foreign aid budgets, women and children in the world's most vulnerable communities face a grim reality: The fragile health systems they depend on are crumbling. These cuts aren't merely financial adjustments — they represent potential death sentences for millions who rely on donor-funded health care programs.
The global health community now confronts its most significant challenge in decades: How to sustain critical health services amid dwindling international support and growing political opposition to gender equality and reproductive rights. This isn't just about finding new money — it's about fundamentally transforming how we finance, deliver, and advocate for women’s, children’s, and adolescents’ health, or WCAH, worldwide.
In low- and middle-income countries, a troubling imbalance has emerged — external aid per capita for health ($12.8 in 2022) exceeds domestic spending ($8.8 in 2022). Meanwhile, African nations are diverting $163 billion annually just to service mounting debts.