JULY 18, 2026
US anti-abortion funding and policy shifts put pressure on African reproductive health access as maternal deaths continue
The Trump administration announced expanded restrictions on US foreign aid to organizations that promote abortion access, gender-affirming care, or diversity initiatives overseas, with Vice President JD Vance stating at the January March for Life that the US would block every international NGO performing or promoting abortion abroad from receiving US funding. Experts say at least $30 billion in US aid could be affected. Sub-Saharan Africa records over 6 million unsafe abortions annually and accounts for 70% of global maternal deaths, with roughly 180,000 pregnancy-related deaths per year across the continent.
The Trump administration's expanded aid restrictions build on decades of US anti-abortion advocacy abroad, accelerating a shift in American foreign policy that reproductive health advocates and healthcare workers say is already affecting women's lives in Africa. Vice President JD Vance, speaking at the March for Life in January, said the administration would "start blocking every international NGO that performs or promotes abortion abroad from receiving a dollar of U.S. money."
In parallel with the policy shift, US-based conservative nonprofits have increased direct financial engagement in Africa. An analysis by the Institute for Journalism and Social Change found that funding from 17 US anti-abortion charitable groups to Africa rose 50% between 2019 and 2022, reaching over $16 million, with nearly $9.4 million spent in 2023 and 2024. Researchers noted that churches and some religious groups are not required to file the same financial disclosures as other nonprofits, making the full scope of funding difficult to determine.
The targets of those efforts include the Maputo Protocol, an African Union convention signed two decades ago that obliges signatory nations to legalize abortion in cases of rape, incest, fetal malformation, or risk to a woman's health. In June, representatives of 20 African countries finalized a draft charter at a conference in Ghana calling for the rejection of sexual and reproductive health rights; it is set for an African Union vote next year. Family Watch International co-founder Sharon Slater was among those fundraising for the charter's passage at the European Parliament.