Teen pregnancies are soaring and HIV care has stalled in rural communities hit by ‘global gag’ funding cuts

Until November 2017, a project run by Planned Parenthood Association of Zambia (PPAZ) would offer HIV testing in homes, distribute condoms in the community, and give family planning information to teenagers in schools.

Such work was halted by the Mexico City policy, or “global gag rule”, signed two years ago by Trump, which blocked US funds to any organisations involved in abortion advice and care overseas. The policy has been imposed by Republican presidents since Ronald Reagan in 1984, but Trump’s measure was more wide-reaching than ever before. Campaigners estimated that 15 times more funding would be affected. Women’s rights groups and health experts warned that progress on family planning, population growth and reproductive rights would be swept away.

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