Stories
US Secures One-Year Deal With UNICEF to Fund Maternal and Newborn Health Aid
C
CNBC TV18•16-10-2026, 23:26
US Secures One-Year Deal With UNICEF to Fund Maternal and Newborn Health Aid
- •The US government has agreed to a one-year, $25 million deal with UNICEF to supply free life-saving medication and equipment to some of the world's poorest nations.
- •The agreement prevents abrupt supply disruptions for at least 15 vulnerable countries, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, and Mali, while they transition to new health aid frameworks.
- •Previous aid disruptions caused severe shortages of essential medications like oxytocin and amoxicillin in regions such as eastern Congo, doubling or tripling healthcare costs.
- •The temporary UNICEF arrangement bridges a critical gap left by the dismantling of the US Agency for International Development and its contractor Chemonics.
- •US authorities have also extended deadlines for Chemonics deliveries and partnered with the Global Fund to ensure continuous access to key malaria and HIV supplies.
Key Questions Answered
The agreement between the US and UNICEF is worth $25 million and will last for one year to fund maternal, newborn, and child health supplies in some of the world's poorest nations.
The agreement covers at least 15 countries that were previously supported, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, and Mali.
Disruptions from USAID cuts caused severe stockouts at facilities like the Nyangezi General Hospital, leading to shortages of life-saving medications like oxytocin and amoxicillin and causing the cost of care to double or triple.
