News From Organizations and Coalitions in Advocacy for Children and Young People Globally
Volume 234
June 16, 2025
QUICK SUMMARY
On June 12, the House of Representatives voted by a razor-thin margin of 214-212 to pass the Trump administration’s rescission package, which includes $8.3 billion in previously approved foreign assistance funds. If the package is approved in the Senate, the U.S. would rescind $900 million in global health spending and billions in disaster and development aid, United Nations agencies’ funding, and more. Emily Byers, the Managing Director of Global Development Policy at Save the Children USA, told Devex that the majority of the rescinded money comes from a foreign affairs bill passed in March 2025, after the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) had already taken “a chainsaw to USAID.” Byers points out that this “‘money is not programmed, not obligated, not funding any Biden-era anything,” and that “it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense” that the administration is clawing it back, when they could use it to fund their own priorities and when Secretary of State Rubio has said that foreign assistance is “still something that we’re going to do.”Read more here.
On June 11, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance published an article on ways it has saved lives through innovative finance. One example is Gavi’s acceleration of access to pneumococcal vaccines. Through top ups from its Pneumococcal Advance Market Commitment (AMC) funds, Gavi incentivized manufacturers to bring new vaccines to market and make them available at lower costs in eligible countries. Thanks to vaccines, pneumonia deaths in children have been reduced by almost half since 2010. Read more here.
On June 10, UNICEF and the International Labour Organization (ILO) released new estimates indicating that nearly 138 million children worldwide were engaged in child labor in 2024, including about 54 million working in hazardous conditions that likely “jeopardize their health, safety, or development.”Although the data show a total reduction of more than 20 million children engaged in child labor since 2020, the world missed its target of completely eliminating child labor by 2025. The largest sector for child labor remains agriculture, accounting for 61% of cases; followed by services, such as domestic work and selling goods in markets (27% of cases); and industry, including mining and manufacturing (13% of cases). Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for nearly two thirds of all child labor cases, around 87 million. UNICEF and ILO call on governments to accelerate progress toward the total elimination of child labor worldwide by investing in social protection for vulnerable households, such as universal child benefits; strengthening child protection systems; providing universal access to high-quality basic education; ensuring decent work for adults and youth; enforcing laws and business accountability to end the exploitation of children across supply chains.Read more here.
On June 9, Devex reported that at the Hamburg Sustainability Conference the week before, Germany indicated a willingness to step into the void left “as the U.S. abandons its multilateral commitments under President Donald Trump.” Since USAID was dismantled by the Trump administration, Germany has become the world’s largest single donor of official development assistance in absolute numbers. At the Conference, held on June 2 and 3, German Vice Chancellor and Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil “gave a full-throated defense of multilateralism” and announced plans “for a new North-South Commission that positions Berlin as the standard-bearer for multilateral cooperation in an increasingly fragmented world.” The Commission will “develop ‘new north-south policies for a multipolar world.’” Read the article here.
SPOTLIGHT
Continuing Fallout of Foreign Aid Cuts
The consequences of the Trump administration’s foreign assistance cuts continue to impact children worldwide and the global children’s aid sector.
On June 10, Devex reported that the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is “facing intense pushback from staff” over proposals to drastically cut the agency’s budget, reduce its workforce, and scale back programming.Facing an estimated 20% reduction in donor funding in 2026 compared to 2024, UNICEF leadership has outlined a plan to cut at least 25% of its core budget; consolidate its seven regional offices into four centers based in Amman, Bangkok, Nairobi, and Panama City; and phase out programming in high-income European countries. Arguing that the proposed restructuring will ultimately harm children, UNICEF staff and regional heads have circulated a series of internal memos to the agency’s leadership urging them to “pursue other, less disruptive means to rein in costs.” The executive committees of local staff associations in Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, and Romania have expressed “deep concern, dismay and strong disagreement” with the plan to end European programming, warning that it puts at risk UNICEF’s reputation, advocacy work, visibility, fundraising, and ability to effectively respond to emergencies and protect children’s rights. The proposed cuts have “heightened tensions” between UNICEF leadership and rank-and-file workers, and “pitted” field staff “against the global staff union leadership in New York.”
On June 11, Devex reported on the “human fallout” of United States funding cuts to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), which supports a global network of free clinics and sexual and reproductive health facilities. As part of its foreign aid freeze, the Trump administration terminated 44 of its grants to UNFPA, totaling $335 million. The White House has also asked Congress to rescind previously approved funds for Fiscal Years 2024 and 2025, including funding for UNFPA. Trump’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget request eliminates funding for family planning entirely. These cuts and rescissions are most heavily impacting UNFPA’s humanitarian and lifesaving programming, since U.S. funding comprised about 42% of UNFPA’s entire humanitarian budget in 2024. Without funding, clinics will no longer be able to offer free reproductive health services. A midwife working at a clinic in one of the poorest parts of Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar, told Devex that nobody will come to the clinic if it isn’t free and that there will be a “big increase” in abortions, mothers’ death, and teenage pregnancies. A spokesperson for UNFPA also warned that the cuts will stop gender-based violence prevention and response services for 250,000 people in Madagascar, including those living with disabilities
On June 12, Senators Jeanne Shaheen(D-NH), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, hosted a spotlight forum on the role of foreign assistance in supporting American farmers and protecting American agriculture. The forum highlighted how the Trump administration’s cuts to the USAID and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) programs have harmed American farmers, ranchers, and agribusiness and exacerbated global food insecurity, since U.S. farmers supply an estimated 40% of international food assistance, including $2 billion annually in surplus commodities. One of the forum’s speakers was Sarah Charles, who formerly oversaw food assistance programs as Assistant to the Administrator of USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance. She warned that America’s lifesaving legacy of food aid is being threatened by the Trump administration’s “chaos and cruelty,” noting that of nearly $5 billion appropriated by Congress for emergency food and nutrition assistance, only 20% has been allocated. These cuts have caused devastating consequences worldwide, including the shuttering of emergency nutrition centers in Somalia, “putting 55,000 children at immediate risk of death.” Charles stated that “globally, 1 million kids in 17 countries are losing a daily meal, often their only meal,” as school feeding programs are slashed.
South Africa Labour and Development Research Unit webinar, “The Importance of an Integrated Approach to Youth Employment: Lessons from the Basic Package of Support for NEET Youth.” June 17, 2025.
OECD webinar, “Turning insights into impact: What do early case studies reveal about the power of PISA for Schools?” June 19, 2025.
South Africa Labour and Development Research Unit webinar, “Should Labour Market Regulations Be Relaxed to Promote Youth Employment?” June 24, 2025.
Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health webinar, “Born Too Soon Supplement Launch Webinar: A Launch into Progress, Priorities and Pivots for Preterm Birth.”June 24, 2025.
REPORTS, ARTICLES, & RESOURCES
ChildFund blog post, “Muddy hands, full hearts: The power of nature in childhood and beyond.”
CNN article, “How the $1,000-per-baby ‘Trump accounts’ would work and who would benefit most.”
Gavi article, “Game theory explains why reasonable parents make vaccine choices that fuel outbreaks.”
CBS19 article, “East Texas law enforcement agencies assist in FBI operation that rescued 109 children from online sexual exploitation.”
First Focus on Children article, “Budget bill targets the nation’s children, analysts say in Capitol Hill briefing.”
Ms. Magazine article, “The Ugliest of Bills: How Republicans’ Reconciliation Bill Endangers All Children.”
First Focus on Children issue brief, “Research Confirms that Early Learning Investments Increase Benefits to Children, Lower Costs to Taxpayers.”
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