The Independent has released a new documentary, Mission Aborted: Trump's War on Maternal Care, a film exploring the impact of the Trump administration’s cuts to maternal healthcare and family planning funding in some of the world's poorest countries.
Presented by The Independent’s Chief International Correspondent, Bel Trew, Mission Aborted speaks to those on the ground in Uganda and Zimbabwe and reveals the sudden and devastating impact of the cuts. These cuts saw some clinics forced to cease all support overnight, unable to even alert patients that they would not be able to provide care as planned. The Independent says an estimated one million women and girls worldwide are now denied contraceptive care due to these cuts and concerns are growing about a surge in teenage pregnancies.
The immediate impact of these cuts is already being felt on the ground, the publisher continued. The Independent can reveal that 16 countries, mainly in Africa and reliant on family planning assistance, are already running out of key contraceptives. Three identified by The Independent have effectively run out of certain brands of implants and injections, while a helpline in Kenya is already reporting cases of unsafe abortions linked to these shortages.
In July of this year, the Trump administration announced plans to burn nearly $10 million worth of USAID-bought contraceptives being held in a warehouse in Europe, reportedly turning down an offer from the UN to buy or ship the supplies to nations in need and from MSI Reproductive Choices to distribute it. Destroying these contraceptives will reportedly cost U.S. taxpayers $167,000, the publisher continued.
In a letter to the Independent, The U.S. State Department wrote that the decision to end all funding for family planning abroad was part of a "new era of foreign assistance, guided by whether it makes America safer, stronger and more prosperous." It notes that the "decision was made to destroy certain abortifacient birth control commodities" which means any substance that could terminate a pregnancy, the Independent continued.
Mission Aborted visits several sites run by MSI Reproductive Choices, a charity operating clinics and supporting families in Uganda and Zimbabwe, and hears from the women who’ve benefited from its care, as well as the practitioners responsible for administering it. The Independent says they raise significant concerns about the impact of these cuts:
- USAID's support for family planning previously saved the lives of around 34,000 women and girls each year. The Independent heard from women who had known friends to die from backstreet abortions due to their inability to access contraceptive care, with unsafe abortions remaining one of the leading causes of maternal mortality globally. These women and girls now face a choice between life-threatening abortions or the life-changing consequences of unplanned pregnancies.
- According to the UN, over 79 million women and girls in Sub-Saharan Africa have experienced rape or sexual assault as children, often resulting in unwanted pregnancies which can lead to these girls being exiled from their communities. The Independent spoke to women who said that, without the provision of contraceptive and maternal care, they would be forced to abandon their education and would struggle to support their families, as well as facing concerns about the pressure that frequent pregnancy puts on their bodies.
- USAID cuts also have a direct economic impact. UN data suggests that every $1 invested in rights-based family planning yields as much as $26 in economic benefits, described by the UN Populations Fund as “one of the highest yielding development investments available."
- Around 1,700 midwives globally were funded by USAID. These cuts also impact the people working within these clinics. Many of them, including midwives, who were previously the chief breadwinners in their families now find their livelihoods are at risk.
“This film demonstrates the immediate and disastrous impact that these cuts are having on vulnerable women and girls globally," says Bel Trew, chief international correspondent, The Independent. “A million of the world’s most vulnerable people have now had their access to vital care withdrawn in the blink of an eye. It's clear that these cuts are already having a catastrophic impact, and that women and girls will die as a result.”
Mission Aborted joins The Independent’s growing roster of documentaries and marks the latest production from The Independent’s content hub, Independent Studio, which launched in April. It follows Death Sentence, released in May, which examined the impact of the Trump administration's cuts to AIDS funding.
Mission Aborted: Trump's War on Maternal Care is available to stream on The Independent now.
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