Nepali Village Had Zero Newborn Deaths in 2024, Then Usaid Cuts Hit and Babies Started Dying Again

Zero deaths to five in months, the human cost of a funding decision made thousands of miles away (Credit: Photo by Aditya Romansa on Unsplash)

A Nepali village that recorded zero newborn deaths in 2024 has seen five infants die within months of the United States cutting funding to a maternal health programme, an Associated Press investigation has found.

Health officials in Prempur Gonahi, in Nepal's Rautahat district, said the deaths returned once outreach workers stopped visiting pregnant women at home.