In Freetown, Sierra Leone, mothers like Sonita need urgent maternal healthcare to survive life-threatening complications during labour.

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However, as a result of severe international aid cuts by the US and UK, hospitals in Freetown are no longer always equipped with the essential medicines and surgical equipment they need to operate, leaving mothers like Sonita waiting hours for an emergency caesarean. Sonita and her baby, Kelvin, survived thanks to the tireless work of the staff at the hospital, which has been supported by a UK aid-funded programme aimed at improving maternal and newborn healthcare across the country. But now, with the UK set to slash its bilateral funding to Sierra Leone by over 80% by 2029, the flagship programme is reportedly facing devastating cuts before it closes next year.

Cuts to UK aid funding that help save the lives of mothers like Sonita are not isolated. A programme supporting communities in Bangladesh to adapt to the impacts of the climate crisis, including through solar power systems and climate-resilient farming, was forced to close two years early. And a pioneering........

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