Foreign aid cuts

The analysis, released on International Day of the Girl, found that 17 of the 20 countries most severely affected by global aid cuts this year were ranked as having ‘poor’ (4) or ‘very poor’ (13) gender equality on the global SDG Gender Index.

The number of children reporting sexual assault after fleeing into Burundi to escape violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has more than tripled this year with aid cuts dramatically reducing the support available, said Save the Children.

A deadly mix of conflict, climate change and poverty have pushed 2.3 million children aged under 5 in South Sudan into life threatening acute malnutrition, with rates soaring just months after foreign governments announced the slashing of funds to the world’s poorest countries, Save the Children said.

This op-ed by Bujar Hoxha, Save the Children Syria Country Director, highlights the urgent humanitarian crisis facing Syria’s children amid political change. With millions affected by hunger, displacement, and aid cuts, he urges prioritizing children’s safety, education, and wellbeing to secure Syria’s future.

About one in five children in Afghanistan could face crisis levels of hunger before October, with funding cuts reducing the amount of food aid available for families, Save the Children said

The move affects more than 6,400 learning centers in Cox’s Bazar – the world’s largest refugee camp.

About 95,000 mothers supported by Save the Children may have to give birth without a skilled health worker present in the next 12 months putting themselves and their babies at risk, unless life-saving aid programmes continue, said Save the Children.

At least 55,000 children supported by Save the Children in Somalia will lose access to lifesaving nutrition services by June, as aid cuts force Save the Children-supported nutrition centres to close.

In 2025, Save the Children aims to treat 260,000 children for severe acute malnutrition at outpatient sites in 10 countries that are now experiencing therapeutic food shortages.

Data compiled by a group of humanitarian organisations operating in Syria shows that in nearly half of the country’s districts, more than 50% of children under five with severe acute malnutrition are not receiving the treatment they need. Malnutrition cases in Syria have been rising for years, but funding cuts have exacerbated an already dire situation.

Save the Children said an analysis of International Organization for Migration (IOM) data showed at least 4,044 children died between 2014 and the start of 2025 while on migration routes, many fleeing conflict, hunger and climate shocks.

At least five children with cholera in South Sudan have died on an arduous journey to seek medical treatment, after aid cuts forced their local health services to close in the middle of a major outbreak of the deadly disease, Save the Children said.

More than 1.8 million children will miss out on learning due to aid cuts impacting Save the Children’s education programmes in over 20 countries

Save the Children and its partners run emergency programmes to protect children at high risk of child marriage, so-called honour killings, and other family violence as well as to protect children with suicidal ideation after surviving sexual violence, child recruitment or other trauma. Many of these children are unaccompanied without family support.

A rare tropical disease that is the leading infectious cause of blindness worldwide was halved in one of the world’s worst-affected communities due to foreign aid but is now at risk of resurgence following aid cuts, as is another tropical eye disease, Save the Children said.

Foreign aid funding cuts are putting our lifesaving work under threat globally. Over 40 countries we operate in have been impacted across Africa, Asia, Latin America, Europe and the Middle East. Learn more about the real impact of foreign cuts on children and our programmes in this blog.

Gabriella Waaijman, Chief Operating Officer at Save the Children International, sheds light on the harsh reality of aid cuts and stresses the urgent need for continued global support to protect vulnerable children and prevent further harm in times of crisis.

Recent cuts in foreign aid have forced Save the Children to suspend lifesaving programmes for malnourished children as a reported 131 million children live in areas experiencing acute food crises globally.

Funding cuts are putting our lifesaving work under threat. Governments across the world are slashing foreign aid budgets that millions of children facing the toughest challenges depend on.

A 12-year-old boy with Downs Syndrome in Ukraine who has been left severely emotionally distressed by a lifetime of conflict is at risk of becoming homeless due to foreign aid cuts, Save the Children said, as the child rights organisation shared examples of the impacts on cash assistance work around the world.

Cuts in foreign aid are stopping vital work in dozens of countries when children’s needs have never been greater.

All of us at Save the Children are devastated by the moves by a number of governments to cut aid while others are also reducing their commitment to international collaboration. But we will not give up on children.