GENEVA / US AID FUNDING CUTS
STORY: GENEVA / US AID FUNDING CUTS
TRT: 03:18
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 04 FEBRUARY 2025 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
1. Wide shot, UN Geneva flag alley
2. Wide shot, moderator and UNFPA speaker at podium in the UN Geneva Press room
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Pio Smith, Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, UNFPA:
“On 24 January, the US administration paused nearly all US foreign aid programmes pending a 90-day review. In response, UNFPA has suspended services funded by US grants that provide a lifeline for women and girls in crises, including in South Asia.”
4. Wide shot, podium speakers
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Jens Laerke, spokesperson, OCHA:
“We have of course been in close contact with all our offices around the world who are also on their part in close contact with the US embassies that are in their countries, seeking more clarity about what this all means.”
6. Wide shot, TV screen, journalists
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Pio Smith, Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, UNFPA:
“The letters that we received are similar to what other UN agencies have received, and we are, like I mentioned earlier, engaging, trying to find more clarity from the US government and I hope to get more details in particular as to why our programmes are being impacted, particularly those which we would hope would be exempt under the humanitarian rubric.”
8. Wide shot, podium speakers, TV screens
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Pio Smith, Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, UNFPA:
“If I just take the example of Afghanistan between 2025 and 2028, we estimate that the absence of US support will result in 1,200 additional maternal deaths and 109,000 additional unintended pregnancies.”
10. Wide shot, podium speakers, TV screens, journalists
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Alessandra Vellucci, Director, UN Information Service at UN Geneva:
“The point is we are looking at continuing this work together and listening also to - if there are criticisms, constructive criticism and points that we need to review - the Secretary-General has said it in his statement, of course, we want to work on this and continue this relationship of trust.”
12. Wide shot, press room, journalists, TV journalists, control booths
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Jens Laerke, spokesperson, OCHA:
“Some 47 per cent of the global humanitarian appeal across the world last year, 47 per cent of that was funded through the US government; that gives you an indication of how much it matters when we are in the situation we are in right now, with the messaging we’re getting from the Government.”
14. Wide shot, press room, journalists and TV screens showing UNFPA speaker
15. SOUNDBITE (English) Pio Smith, Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, UNFPA:
“What happens when our work is not funded? Women give birth alone in unsanitary conditions. The risk of obstetric fistula is heightened, newborns die from preventable causes; survivors of gender-based violence have nowhere to turn for medical or psychological support. We hope that the United States government will retain its position as a global leader in development and continue to work with UNFPA to alleviate the suffering of women and their families as a result of catastrophes they did not cause.”
16. Wide shot, podium speakers, journalists
17. SOUNDBITE (English) Jens Laerke, spokesperson, OCHA:
“Public name-calling won't save any lives.”
18. Medium shot, reporter listening to press conference with hearing aid
19. Wide shot, TV journalists
20. Medium shot, journalist nodding
UN agencies offered a dire assessment on Tuesday about the global impact of deep cuts to grassroots humanitarian funding by the incoming US administration and reiterated calls for Washington to retain its position as a global aid leader.
The development follows the pause announced to billions of dollars of funding on 24 January by the US administration to “nearly all US foreign aid programmes, pending a 90-day review” said Pio Smith from the UN’s sexual reproductive health agency, UNFPA.
Speaking to journalists in Geneva, he said that “in response, UNFPA has suspended services funded by US grants that provide a lifeline for women and girls in crises, including in South Asia." Smith, who is UNFPA’s Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, warned between 2025 and 2028 in Afghanistan, the absence of US support will likely result in 1,200 additional maternal deaths and 109,000 additional unintended pregnancies.
Smith added that said that the US notification letters “are similar to what other UN agencies have received” and that the agency was seeking “more clarity” from the US government “as to why our programmes are being impacted, particularly those which we would hope would be exempt” on humanitarian grounds.
The UN aid coordination agency OCHA, meanwhile, said that there have been no “layoffs or closing down access” in response to the US announcement. Spokesperson Jens Laerke added that the agency’s country offices were “in close contact with the US embassies that are in their countries, to better understand how the situation will unfold.
He explained that the US government funded around 47 per cent of the global humanitarian appeal across the world last year; “that gives you an indication of how much it matters when we are in the situation we are in right now, with the messaging we’re getting from the Government."
The development comes amid reports that the new US administration has placed the country’s principal foreign assistance agency, USAID, under the authority of the Secretary of State. Staff from the humanitarian agency have been locked out of their offices, while senior officials within the White House have accused USAID of criminal activity and a lack of accountability.
“Public name-calling won't save any lives,” said OCHA’s Laerke, while Alessandra Vellucci, head of the UN Information Service at UN Geneva, highlighted the UN Secretary-General’s appeal for a relationship of trust with the Trump administration. “We are looking at continuing this work together [and listening]…if there are criticisms, constructive criticism and points that we need to review,” she told reporters.
Amid uncertainty about future US funding, UNFPA’s Smith underscored the immediate impact on at-risk individuals in the world’s poorest settings: “Women give birth alone in unsanitary conditions; the risk of obstetric fistula is heightened, newborns die from preventable causes; survivors of gender-based violence have nowhere to turn for medical or psychological support. We hope that the United States government will retain its position as a global leader in development and continue to work with UNFPA to alleviate the suffering of women and their families as a result of catastrophes they did not cause.”
UNFPA works across the world including in Afghanistan, where more than nine million people are expected to lose access to health and protection services because of the US funding crisis, it said. This will impact nearly 600 mobile health teams, family health houses and counselling centres, whose work will be suspended, Smith explained.
“Every two hours, a mother dies from preventable pregnancy complications, making Afghanistan one of the deadliest countries in the world for women to give birth. Without UNFPA’s support, even more lives will be lost at a time when the rights of Afghan women and girls are already being torn to pieces.”
In Pakistan, the UN agency warns that the US announcement will affect 1.7 million people, including 1.2 million Afghan refugees, who will be cut off from lifesaving sexual and reproductive health services, with the closure of over 60 health facilities.
In Bangladesh, nearly 600,000 people, including Rohingya refugees, face losing access to critical maternal and reproductive health services.
“This is not about statistics. This is about real lives. These are literally the world’s most vulnerable people,” Smith insisted.
In Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar refugee camp complex –where more than one million Rohingya refugees remain trapped in dire conditions - nearly half of all births now take place in health facilities, with UNFPA’s support. “This progress is now at risk,” Smith continued, noting that the agency requires more than 308 million dollars this year to sustain essential services in Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan.