US contraception cuts will see 'tens of thousands' die

More than 8,000 women and girls are believed to have died from complications during pregnancy or birth as a result of Donald Trump freezing US aid funding after returning to the White House, a toll which could become 34,000 by the end of the year, researchers have warned.

- RACHEL SCHRAER

Contraceptive services are among the programmes hit by billions of dollars of US aid cuts, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.

Some 4.2 million women and girls have become unintentionally pregnant since aid was cut on 20 January, according to calculations from the Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive rights research group. Around 8,000 are estimated to have died because of cuts to care.

"With each passing day, an additional 130,390 women and girls, according to our estimates, continue to be denied contraceptive care and thus put at risk for poor health outcomes and even death," said Jonathan Wittenberg, Guttmacher's CEO.

This comes as The Independent reveals US cuts have derailed the projected end of the Aids pandemic, which could lead to four million extra deaths by 2030.