AP Documents Mothers and Newborns Dying in Nepal After U.S. Aid Cuts the Government Says Have Killed No One

In reporting published August 13, 2026, the Associated Press documented deaths of pregnant women and newborns in Nepal's Rautahat district after the dissolution of USAID ended maternal nutrition and outreach programs. A five-year, $35 million program canceled by the cuts had reached more than 100,000 women and girls. In one village, records showed zero neonatal deaths in 2024; after cancellation, five newborns died between December and March. Child wasting in the province rose from 7.4 to 12.3 percent by May.

The AP notes the cuts also eliminated jobs collecting mortality data, so the recorded toll understates the real one by an unknown margin. That gap matters: the administration's denial rests on the records the cuts degraded.

The State Department told the AP the administration has refocused assistance on efficiency and partnership, said the United States spends more on health and humanitarian aid than any other country, and said it still funds maternal and child health work in Nepal. The government has repeatedly said the cuts have killed no one.