In 2023, the US government launched tough actions affecting women and girls worldwide. In March, USAID announced 83% of its programs would be cut, following a freeze that caused chaos globally. Experts warned this would lead to deaths from disease, starvation, and reduced maternal care. Rights groups called it a brutal attack on family planning and reproductive health. Around the UN Women’s conference, Christian-right groups held a meeting in New York cheering Trump’s policies against gender rights and abortion. UN Secretary-General António Guterres cautioned about a resurgence of "the poison of patriarchy." In Africa, conferences championing traditional family values stirred concern. Uganda and Kenya hosted meetings in May with influential US and European anti-rights leaders pushing back against what they called "radical global social engineering." July saw further trouble when the US planned to destroy $10 million worth of contraceptives stored in Belgium. The International Planned Parenthood Federation warned this would deny contraception to over 1.4 million women, causing 174,000 unintended pregnancies and 56,000 unsafe abortions in five African nations. Doctors Without Borders called the move "callous". Despite NGOs’ offers to buy the supplies, the US refused. The Belgian government is currently blocking the destruction. The controversial global gag rule, blocking US aid to groups involved with abortion, was reinstated in January and is set to expand in 2026. The new rule will target governments and multilateral groups, not just NGOs, and include diversity programs, potentially worsening effects on global health aid. Experts warn this expansion could have "unimaginable effects" on women's rights worldwide. These moves by the US, combined with aid cuts from countries like the UK and Netherlands, are shaping a difficult year for global women’s health and rights.