Charting a Course through USAID Terminations: Impact, Adaptation, and the Road Ahead

In February 2025, Pathfinder International received termination notices for all its USAID awards.

These sudden terminations halted 15 Pathfinder projects, including 6 of the organization’s largest across Africa and South Asia. Valued at US$221.6 million, these six projects delivered family planning, maternal and child health, and women’s economic empowerment services at national scale. They supported more than 3,500 health facilities in Egypt, Pakistan, Burkina Faso, Uganda, and Mozambique.

We projected that award terminations would result in:

• 571,000 family planning clients losing access to services
• 713,000 unintended pregnancies
• 287,000 unsafe abortions no longer averted
• 1.1 million children missing routine vaccinations and treatment for common childhood illnesses
• 450,000 women and young people losing access to life skills, economic literacy, and reproductive health education

In response, Pathfinder focused on maintaining continuity of essential services, protecting core systems, and working closely with local ministries of health and partner organizations to transition services to prevent collapse. Download our brief above to see how Pathfinder projects worked to sustain services and reduce harm during this tumultuous period.