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The seriousness of this reversal is highlighted by the fact that the foreign assistance funding that was revoked was only a few months ago, when it was signed into law by the President and passed by regular congress order with bipartisan support.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.