Summary
- Save the Children condemns $9 billion rescissions
package cutting foreign aid. - Nearly $8 billion cut threatens vital child health and
humanitarian programs. - Despite assurances, bipartisan-approved life-saving
funds were rolled back. - Cuts endanger millions of children needing clean water,
nutrition, and care. - Save the Children urges Congress to restore and protect
aid investments.
This massive cutback of U.S. humanitarian and
development aid will have immediate and long-term effects on the world’s most
vulnerable children, even though the administration previously promised that
life-saving initiatives would not be affected.
The seriousness of this reversal is highlighted
by the fact that the foreign assistance funding that was revoked was only a few
months ago, when it was signed into law by the President and passed by regular
congress order with bipartisan support.
“Foreign assistance is a lifeline for children,”
said SCAN Executive Director Christy Gleason.
“Rescinding
congressionally approved funding for global health, humanitarian and
development programs not only puts kids at risk but undermines Congressional
funding decisions going forward.”
“This is a deeply troubling step backward of
American leadership,” said Allison Dembeck, Head of Policy at Save the
Children.
“For decades, U.S. foreign assistance has helped millions of children
survive, learn and be protected. Cutting critical programs that have proven to
reduce child malnutrition, expand education access and deliver vaccines puts
lives in jeopardy. Congress must restore its role in the appropriations process
and ensure that U.S. support for lifesaving programs remains above politics.”
Senators Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Chris
Coons, and Patty Murray, together with Representatives Brian Fitzpatrick and
Mike Turner, are commended by Save the Children and SCAN for their unwavering
support of U.S. global leadership and their rejection of detrimental cuts in
foreign assistance that are specifically targeted at children. Their bipartisan
backing makes it very evident that partisan politics or administrative
overreach should not undermine these efforts.
Following a tight Senate vote on Wednesday
night, the House adopted the final bill today, making it the first rescission
package to become law since 1999. The final version of the law preserves
financing for programs including maternal, neonatal, and child health while
protecting the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) from
reduction.
The bill also takes away $1.3 billion in
lifesaving humanitarian funding at a time when more than 200 million children
need urgent care and support to survive.
“The funding that was taken away could have been
used to save the lives of children affected by conflict and disaster through
the provision of clean water, safe shelter, urgent care for acute malnutrition
and medical care for injuries and disease,”
Gleason said.
“This funding is the
very definition of lifesaving and instead of protecting it, Congress and the
Administration have broken their commitment and turned their backs on children
around the world.”
These cuts coincide with the marking up and
passing of appropriations measures for fiscal year 2026. Save the Children and
SCAN urge congressional appropriators to restore and safeguard investments in
humanitarian aid and international development while that process proceeds
under normal order.
More than ever, Congress needs to make sure that
the money they have appropriated is put to use while also upholding America’s
tradition of compassion, security, and cooperation.
What are the key impacts highlighted by Save the
Children?
146 Save the Children programs across over 40
countries have been affected, with 89 fully terminated and the rest fully or
partially suspended. This disruption impacts approximately 10.3 million people
globally across Africa, Asia, Latin America, Europe, and the Middle East.
More than 1.8 million children will miss out on
learning due to cuts in education programs. For example, in Tanzania, tens of
thousands of children face disrupted schooling, with shortages of basic
materials such as notebooks and sanitary pads, causing increases in dropouts
and worsened academic performance.
Clinics treating severely malnourished children
in countries like Sudan and Syria are at risk of closure. Health services,
vaccination programs, and maternal care in refugee camps have been suspended or
drastically reduced.
