The United States has moved to withdraw funding and participation from a wide range of United Nations bodies, including flagship agencies working on population, women’s health and development, in one of the most sweeping overhauls of its multilateral engagement in decades. The decision is expected to severely disrupt programmes serving vulnerable women, children and low‑income countries that rely heavily on UN‑managed funds and technical support.
An executive order signed by President Donald Trump directs the US to leave dozens of international organisations, many of them UN entities, on the grounds that they promote “globalist” agendas seen as misaligned with US interests. The move targets agencies focused on climate, health, human rights, gender equality and development, signalling a sharp turn away from long‑standing US support for the UN system.
Among the affected organisations is the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), the UN’s lead agency on sexual and reproductive health, which supports family planning, safe childbirth and maternal health services in more than 150 countries. Washington had already suspended and then terminated substantial contributions to UNFPA in recent years; the new decision formalises a complete halt to US funding and ends its institutional engagement with the agency. (Press release)
