Story perspectives

USAID Cuts Linked to Nepal Maternal, Newborn Death Surge

8/13/2026

Summary

Story summary

President Donald Trump’s decision to eliminate USAID triggered a rise in maternal and newborn deaths in Nepal.
The cuts ended nutrition and reproductive outreach that had served 100,000 women and girls.
In Prempur Gonahi, neonatal deaths rose from zero in 2024 to five between December and March after the program’s cancellation.
Twenty-year-old Kabita Mukhiya and her unborn baby died from eclampsia and severe anemia after U.S.-funded nutrition supplements were eliminated.

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Story summary

President Donald Trump’s decision to eliminate USAID triggered a rise in maternal and newborn deaths in Nepal.
The cuts ended nutrition and reproductive outreach that had served 100,000 women and girls.
In Prempur Gonahi, neonatal deaths rose from zero in 2024 to five between December and March after the program’s cancellation.
Twenty-year-old Kabita Mukhiya and her unborn baby died from eclampsia and severe anemia after U.S.-funded nutrition supplements were eliminated.