Lukas Nkhoma, WISH programme project director in Zambia, said he is “scared for the futures” of the girls and women in the country who will no longer have access to contraception. By the age of 19, almost 60% of Zambian girls have fallen pregnant – mostly because of lack of health services in rural communities.
"When WISH came along, we helped expand much-needed contraception and sexual health services in [rural] areas, including services for youth with integrated HIV support, treatment for sexually transmitted infections and cervical cancer screening,” said Nkhoma.
"For many women, it was their first time using contraception and the first time they've ever had complete control over their bodies and fertility. WISH also helps girls stay in school to finish their education, giving them control over their futures.”
When WISH closes, the community outreach in rural areas will end and the only way women will get contraception is by making long, costly trips to clinics.
“I don't know what these women and girls will do. Just because there is a global pandemic, women's needs don't suddenly stop, and if they can't access safe services, an unsafe abortion might be the only option," said Nkhoma.
The UK is reportedly also cutting its contribution to UNAIDS, the UN’s HIV/AIDS programme, by 80%, from £15m to £2.5m this year.
“These cuts couldn’t have come at a worse time for the HIV pandemic. AIDS remains the number one killer of women of reproductive age and 1.7 million people acquired HIV in 2019,” said STOPAIDS, a UK network of agencies working to end HIV globally.
A Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office spokesperson told openDemocracy: “The seismic impact of the pandemic on the UK economy has forced us to take tough but necessary decisions, including temporarily reducing the overall amount we spend on aid.
“We will still spend more than £10bn this year to fight poverty, tackle climate change and improve global health. We are working with suppliers and partners on what this means for individual programmes.”
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