The newly expanded rule further advances an extreme anti-rights agenda
The Jan. 27 expansion of the Global Gag Rule is just the latest action by the current U.S. administration to decimate global health and human rights.
“This policy weaponizes U.S. foreign aid to force the administration’s harmful agenda on people around the world,” says Anu Kumar, Ipas President and CEO. The newly expanded Global Gag Rule will use the power of all non-military U.S. foreign funds to restrict work by a wide array of actors on gender equity, LGBTQI+ rights, and diversity, equity and inclusion—as well as abortion.
“Bullying countries into complying with anti-rights and extremist ideology is despicable and unacceptable,” Kumar says. “The imperialist goals of this administration are on full display in this policy’s conditions to receive U.S. foreign assistance.”
“The radical expansion of this deadly policy will devastate the global community and be especially harmful to women, young people, and LGBTQI+ people,” says Jamie Vernaelde, Ipas senior researcher for global policy and advocacy. “Around the world, these individuals already face numerous barriers to health care and have repeatedly had their rights and freedoms infringed upon by this administration’s assault on sexual and reproductive rights over the past year.”
"The radical expansion of this deadly policy will devastate the global community."
— Jamie Vernaelde, Ipas senior researcher for global policy and advocacy
An anti-abortion policy broadens its attack
As expected in January 2025, the administration reinstated the Global Gag Rule, which has been used as a political football by Republicans and Democrats since 1984. Also referred to as the ‘Mexico City Policy,’ the Global Gag Rule has historically prohibited foreign NGOs receiving U.S. family planning funds from engaging in abortion-related work. Organizations were “gagged” from providing not only abortion services, but abortion counseling, referrals, medical advice, training or lobbying to change abortion laws.
Now, this radical expansion of the Global Gag Rule will restrict all non-military U.S. foreign aid recipients—including foreign NGOs, humanitarian efforts, and programs run by U.S.-based organizations, UN partners, other governments and parastatal organizations—from engaging not only in abortion-related work, but also work to advance gender equity, LGBTQI+ rights, and diversity, equity and inclusion.
This policy expansion was strategically planned to not only widen the U.S. government’s influence over sexual and reproductive health globally but to force compliance with anti-rights restrictions as a condition for receiving any U.S. funds.
“This expanded Global Gag Rule is all about control,” Kumar says. “The current administration wants to control what people do with their bodies, what governments and NGOs can do with their own funds, and even what civil society is allowed to say about health, human rights and equity.”
Vernaelde says humanitarian response efforts will likely suffer great harm under the expanded Global Gag Rule, as will a broad range of sexual education programs that even so much as mention topics like gender or LGBTQI+ identities.
"This expanded Global Gag Rule is all about control.”
— Anu Kumar, Ipas President and CEO
“As intended, this policy will destroy the crucial work of many feminist and social justice organizations around the world,” says Vernaelde. “It will also end lifesaving health care—like that provided by reproductive health centers serving people displaced by conflicts and climate disasters.”
The cumulative result of all these actions: Millions will die, and millions more will be denied basic bodily autonomy
A study by The Lancet estimates that 14 million people who may have lived could now die if USAID cuts continue through 2030. And Guttmacher Institute estimates that almost 50 million women and girls have already been denied contraception in low- and middle-income countries in just the past year.
“This expansion of the Global Gag Rule will not only magnify the global crisis brought on by the destruction of USAID, but it will also continue to wreak havoc on global progress to improve health, uphold human rights, and achieve gender equality,” says Dr. Jean-Claude Mulunda, director of Ipas Democratic Republic of Congo.
Fighting back with education
The Global Gag Rule is complicated, and misinformation thrives each time it’s reinstated or expanded—often causing governments, health workers and many others to avoid providing allowable services out of fear that they’ll violate the rule and risk losing funds. This “over interpretation” has a chilling effect that ripples across health systems and societies, making it ever more difficult for women to find services like contraception and abortion—even when they have the legal right to such care under local law.
As we’ve done every time the Global Gag Rule is reinstated, Ipas will work tirelessly to support local partners and governments to understand the policy’s restrictions—and importantly, what services, actions and programs are still allowed.
‘Health agreements’ with desperate governments bolster Global Gag Rule’s harms
Health systems are in crisis after the widespread destruction of funds and programs in the past year. Leaders are desperate for funding to continue even basic, essential health care for populations greatly in need.
This is why many governments have begun agreeing to coercive “America first” health funding agreements with the United States that offer funds—albeit greatly reduced from previous levels—with complex and controversial conditions. The New York Times reported on Jan. 15 that the U.S. had signed such agreements with 16 African countries since mid-December—with dozens more in negotiation with governments in Africa as well as Asia and Latin America.
These health agreements force countries to prioritize U.S. global health strategy and foreign policy goals over their own national health needs—especially reproductive health needs. All funding will be subject to the expanded Global Gag Rule, causing drastic cuts to programs that advance gender equity as well as reproductive health and rights.
“We know that Kenya and many other countries are still reeling from the loss of USAID, but our health privacy and reproductive health care cannot and should not be the cost to resume aid agreements with the United States,” says Dr. Musoba Kitui, director of Kenya-based Ipas Africa Alliance.
Kenya’s government has signed a health agreement that requires the country to share extensive private health data with the U.S.—a requirement commonly found in these agreements. The country’s high court is now considering a challenge to this part of the agreement.
"Reproductive health care should not be the cost to resume aid agreements with the United States.”
— Dr. Musoba Kitui, director of Ipas Africa Alliance
In the news:
Ipas shares analysis
Ipas leaders and experts have been sharing analysis and insights from our work around the world with the media regarding the new “health agreements” and the announcement of the expanded Global Gag Rule:
January 29, 2026
Health Policy Watch: Latest US Restrictions on Aid ‘Bully’ Recipients to Accept ‘Extremist Ideology’
January 25, 2026
January 23, 2026
January 23, 2026
January 16, 2026
January 15, 2026