As the world faces growing inequalities, crises and needs, available support for millions of people is beginning to fray. In January 2025, the United States, long the largest contributor to international cooperation, began to dismantle its commitment to global solidarity, creating a dramatic funding gap which is extremely hard to fill in the current context.
In a troubling parallel, the vast majority of European donors, who have been strong allies of international cooperation and who in 2023 reached a new record of support for sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) worldwide, are also pulling back from their commitments, pushed by geopolitical pressures and shifting priorities increasingly focused on self interest, security and defence.
Since the beginning of the year, Countdown 2030 Europe (C2030E) has calculated that 9 European donors (8 countries plus the European Union) have announced and/or already put in place cuts to their Official Development Assistance (ODA) amounting to €30 billion over the next 4 years.
This interactive map highlights recent and upcoming cuts to Official Development Assistance (ODA) across Europe. Countries with confirmed cuts are shaded in light blue. Hover over a country to view specific details on reductions and their implications for sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). Hovering over EU Member States reveals regional-level shifts in priorities and funding. Data is up to date as of May 2025.
As European support has shown in the past, this money could have been used, among other crucial things ensuring everyone thrives, to support the ability of all, including the most marginalised women and girls, to be safe and healthy, to decide if and when to have children, who to love and what to do with their own body.
On the contrary, as past funding cuts show, withdrawing support will not only endanger lives but also severely harm the health and well-being of women, girls and marginalized communities.
This unprecedented retreat of global solidarity is happening at a time when need has never been greater, with the world facing the most active conflicts since World War II, the warmest years on record and exacerbated inequalities increasing global instability and fueling the rise of dangerous populist and extremist rhetorics. In this context, donor governments are turning their backs on the world’s most marginalised communities by slashing life-saving international cooperation budgets.
In a world that is more than ever interconnected, self-interest and common interest go hand in hand. Reducing international cooperation budgets is neither the right choice, nor the strategic, forward-looking thing to do – if we care about building a sustainably healthy, safe, prosperous and more equal global community that includes us all and tackles global challenges together.
Read the briefing below where we share a clear breakdown of these ODA cuts, their foreseeable potential impact on SRHR and our recommendations for the future.
