Women all over the world “will suffer the consequences” of President Donald Trump's decision to cut US funding to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), a leading women's health advocate has said.

The UN body receives approximately $75m (£60m) from the US, making it the fourth largest contributor. The US State Department has said it will cut $32.5m from the 2017 budget, with the potential to lose out on the millions more provided through "non-core funds".

Shannon Kowalski, Director of Advocacy and Policy of the International Women’s Health Coalition said that with US assistance, UNFPA in 2016 was able to “save the lives of 2,340 women from dying during pregnancy and childbirth, prevent 947,000 unintended pregnancies, prevent 295,000 unsafe abortions, and help 3 million couples prevent unwanted pregnancy.”

"This administration is putting politics over evidence, and women around the world will suffer the consequences," she said.

The Trump administration is cutting the funding on the basis that UNFPA supports “coercive abortion” in China according to a letter sent to the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

By halting assistance, the Trump administration is following through on promises to let socially conservative policies that Mr Trump embraced in his campaign determine the way the US government operates and conducts itself in the world. Though focused on forced abortion — a concept opposed by liberals and conservatives alike — the move was sure to be perceived as a gesture to anti-abortion advocates and other conservative interests.

UNFPA covers much more than abortions. The agency is the largest global provider of contraception and related education, works to reduce maternal deaths, female genital mutilation, gender based violence, and child marriage.

Jonathan Rucks, Director of Advocacy for global family planning advocacy organisation PAI, told The Independent that women in areas of humanitarian crisis - like Jordan’s large refugee camps where 7,000 babies have been delivered without a maternal death - are particularly at risk because of the large cut.

The agency also works with women in Latin America affected by the Zika virus and those displaced and/or raped by members of Isis in Iraq.

Mr Rucks said that the administration’s decision to cut US funding is “devoid of fact.” He said the US contribution goes to “core financing” and mostly covers humanitarian assistance.

UNFPA does not fund or perform abortions or forced sterilisations, it is against their policy according to a statement by the agency. In the past, the agency has also been vocal about not supporting China’s “one child” policy.

Mr Rucks explained that no one in the administration seemed to travel to China to conduct an investigation on the matter and Mr Trump is incorrectly “tying the Chinese government to UNFPA.”

Ms Kowalski said the attempt to mischaracterise the work UNFPA does in China - promoting voluntary family planning education for women and girls in impoverished areas - is a matter of “putting politics over evidence.”

London Summit on Family Planning to halve number of women without access to contraceptives Show all 26 1 /26 London Summit on Family Planning to halve number of women without access to contraceptives London Summit on Family Planning to halve number of women without access to contraceptives Image-1---Meet-mother-of-tw.jpg Meet Mwanasha, she’s 21 years old and already a mum-of-two. She’s a farmer living in a remote area in southern Malawi who is hoping to get family planning services. Lindsay Mgbor/DFID London Summit on Family Planning to halve number of women without access to contraceptives Image-2---Chnaging-women's-.jpg Mwanasha, along with nearly 200 women, gather under the shade of a Baobab tree. They’ve come for contraceptives, which for many of them, can save their lives and transform their families’ futures. In Malawi, one in 36 women die in childbirth compared to one in 4,600 in the UK. Lindsay Mgbor/DFID London Summit on Family Planning to halve number of women without access to contraceptives Image-3---Future-families.jpg Nurse Chipiliro Musowa talks to women about the benefits of contraceptives. She works for a UK aid supported non-government organisation that brings family planning services to remote areas to help give some of the world's poorest women the power to decide if and when to have a child. Lindsay Mgbor/DFID London Summit on Family Planning to halve number of women without access to contraceptives Image-4---What-women-want.jpg Mwanasha (far left) queues with women in the local area to be registered for free family planning services. More than 200 million women in developing countries who want to delay or avoid becoming pregnant do not have access to modern methods of contraception. Lindsay Mgbor/DFID London Summit on Family Planning to halve number of women without access to contraceptives Image-5---A-matter-of-life-.jpg Women will travel for hours on foot to access lifesaving contraceptives, some without the knowledge of their husbands. As Mwanasha explains, “Sometimes husbands stop their wives accessing family planning methods, and when we do it on our own, husbands quarrel with us and beat us up. That’s why some women do not access family planning methods.” Lindsay Mgbor/DFID London Summit on Family Planning to halve number of women without access to contraceptives Image-6---Hope-for-the-futu.jpg The Banja La Mtsogolo programme works with both men and women in local communities to explain the benefits of family planning. Nurse Chipiliro has seen how families become healthier, wealthier and better educated. "If women are getting family planning methods there are many benefits. They have more time to take care of their family and do business in their community," says Chipiliro. Lindsay Mgbor/DFID London Summit on Family Planning to halve number of women without access to contraceptives Image-7---The-power-to-deci.jpg Mwanasha has a one-to-one consultation with Nurse Chipiliro to discuss the full range of contraceptives available - from short to long term methods - so she can choose the best option for her. Lindsay Mgbor London Summit on Family Planning to halve number of women without access to contraceptives Image-8---Females-first.jpg Contraceptives have wide reaching benefits. Nurse Chipiliro explains how female condoms protect women against HIV. In Malawi, over 10% of people have HIV. For women unable to persuade their husband or partner to wear a male condom, the female condom is essential. Lindsay Mgbor/DFID London Summit on Family Planning to halve number of women without access to contraceptives Image-9---Transformational-.jpg Mwanasha decides to have an implant because she wants to delay her next pregnancy and space her children. She explains, “The children will grow up strong and healthy because they will have been spaced, rather than having them close together. It also means as parents we will have enough time to do other work instead of just looking after the children.” Lindsay Mgbor/DFID London Summit on Family Planning to halve number of women without access to contraceptives Image-10---Choices-for-wome.jpg Long-lasting contraceptive implants are very popular in remote, rural areas. Women often struggle to access health services and implants help women to safely space their children. If women can space births by three years, deaths of children under five would decrease by 25%. Lindsay Mgbor/DFID London Summit on Family Planning to halve number of women without access to contraceptives Image-11---Keeping-mums-hea.jpg Mums are given "health passports" which monitor their medical history and record what family planning methods they use. Lindsay Mgbor/DFID London Summit on Family Planning to halve number of women without access to contraceptives Image-12---The-next-generat.jpg Women who are able to plan their families are more likely to be able to send their children to school and the longer children stay in school, the higher their lifetime earnings will be, helping them to lift themselves out of poverty. Lindsay Mgbor/DFID London Summit on Family Planning to halve number of women without access to contraceptives Image-1---Make-mums-matter-.jpg In Malawi, pregnancy and childbirth is a matter of life and death for both mother and child. One in 36 women die in childbirth compared to one in 4,600 in the UK. Lindsay Mgbor/DFID London Summit on Family Planning to halve number of women without access to contraceptives Image-2---Leading-the-way--.jpg President Joyce Banda is the first female President of Malawi - and the second female President in the whole of Africa. She became an advocate for women's reproductive health after nearly dying in childbirth, having her fourth child. She is an active member of the Aspen Institutes Global Leaders Council for Reproductive Health. "I am saddened by the fact that over 220 million women worldwide do not have the means to decide whether, when and how many children to have. This is a breach of their right to choice and right to health." Lindsay Mgbor/DFID London Summit on Family Planning to halve number of women without access to contraceptives Image-3---Malawi---Grace---.jpg Grace Matthews, a mother-of-two, walked and cycled for three hours to get contraceptives. She decides to have an injection to delay her next pregnancy. “If I didn’t have access to family planning I would have maybe seven or eight children. I wouldn’t be able to feed them. So because of family planning we are raising our children very well.” Lindsay Mgbor/DFID London Summit on Family Planning to halve number of women without access to contraceptives Image-4---From-experience--.jpg Chief Nursing Officer Tulipoka Soko has worked at the Queen Elizabeth hospital in Blantyre more than 15 years. Every day she sees first hand how women suffer complications in childbirth. “If a woman is using family planning methods she can adequately space her children, which can reduce complications in childbirth and prevent deaths. “One of the challenges in Malawi is teenage pregnancies. They are very high at 26%. I think it is important to empower young people, they need to use family planning to delay their first pregnancy. They also need to be educated, because if they go to school they might also delay getting pregnant.” Lindsay Mgbor/DFID London Summit on Family Planning to halve number of women without access to contraceptives Image-5---A-matter-of-life-.jpg Young mum Edith Amos (right) with her mum Elida Bakali. Edith had a difficult birth and had to undergo a caesarean. Doctors managed to safely deliver her twin boys but were forced to give her a hysterectomy so she is no longer able to have any more children. “I came to the hospital because my feet were swelling. When I arrived I started fitting, this is because I had pre-eclampsia. I was then operated on because I kept convulsing.” Young women aged 15-19 are twice as likely to die in pregnancy and childbirth as older women. Starting a family young means a woman’s risk of dying of pregnancy and childbirth related causes in her lifetime is significantly higher. Lindsay Mgbor/DFID London Summit on Family Planning to halve number of women without access to contraceptives Image-6---Born-too-soon-and.jpg Many babies are born too soon and too small when girls are unable to delay their first pregnancy, and couples can't space their children using modern methods of family planning. Elida’s two twin boys are strapped to their grandmother’s chest in the maternity unit in the Queen Elizabeth hospital in Blantyre, Malawi. This is called “kangaroo care” where mothers hold their premature babies close. The skin-to-skin contact helps keep the babies warm and improves their survival. Lindsay Mgbor/DFID London Summit on Family Planning to halve number of women without access to contraceptives Image-7---The-ideal-family-.jpg Esnart has four children and has lost four babies in childbirth. She came for family planning services and decided to have a sterilisation because she does not want to get pregnant again. On average women in Malawi have six children. Yet families nationally say their preferred family size would be four. Lindsay Mgbor/DFID London Summit on Family Planning to halve number of women without access to contraceptives Image-8---What-women-want--.jpg Nurse Chipiliro Musowa works for a UK aid supported family planning programme called Banja La Mtsogolo, which means 'Family of the Future'. She’s seen how families become healthier, wealthier and better educated with access to contraceptives. "If women are getting family planning methods there are many benefits. They have more time to take care of their family and do business in their community," says Chipiliro. Lindsay Mgbor/DFID London Summit on Family Planning to halve number of women without access to contraceptives Image-10---A-brighter-futur.jpg Ruth, 24, has two children – Shamin who is 5 years old and Brian who is 4 months old. Her husband works as a clinician at a hospital and she is a primary school teacher. “If I had lots of children, I think my life would have been in danger because I would be giving birth frequently. There would be dire poverty in our house and we would not have enough food for all the children that I would have had.” Ruth has access to contraceptives through a UK aid supported scheme. “We look to the future as being bright because our children will be able to go to school, our family will be educated and we will be eating well because we will have all our basic needs met.” Lindsay Mgbor/DFID London Summit on Family Planning to halve number of women without access to contraceptives Image-11---Young-mum---Gumu.jpg Young mum Mphatso Gumulira, 15, with her son Zayitwa, in the Queen Elizabeth hospital in Blantyre, Malawi. She had to drop out of school when she became pregnant. Up to a quarter of girls in sub-Saharan Africa drop out of school due to unintended pregnancies. Mphatso's advice for girls is to, “Get educated first and you can have children after that once you are on a responsible way. You will be able to do many things on your own and take care of your family.” Mphatso's hopes her grandmother will look after her son so she can return to school. “My ambition is to become a lawyer to help my child in the future and to teach him to be a responsible person. Lindsay Mgbor/DFID London Summit on Family Planning to halve number of women without access to contraceptives Image-12---A-reality-for-gi.jpg Brenda, 16, (left) and her older sister Atupele, 18, are academically bright but had to drop out of school because their family could not afford the fees. Both are now young mothers. Lindsay Mgbor/DFID London Summit on Family Planning to halve number of women without access to contraceptives Image-13---The-next-generat.jpg Brenda was 14 years old when she had her daughter Sara who is now 2 years old. She has no contact with the father of her child and lives with her Dad and brothers. Her mother died when she was young. “The main reason for family planning is to space your children and maybe others want to go back to school so they should have a brighter future.” Mothers who have had an education are more than twice as likely to send their own children to school than mothers with no education. Lindsay Mgbor/DFID London Summit on Family Planning to halve number of women without access to contraceptives Image-14---Hope-for-the-fut.jpg Hope also works for the UK aid supported family planning programme, Banja La Mtsogolo. She was originally a client at the clinic and then became a Community Health Worker. She’s recently been helping girls and women to access family planning services for the first time. “My advice is that many more women should have access so they can help with the development of our country. I have one daughter myself, Grace. My hopes for my daughter are that she has a bright future. She can depend on herself and become a doctor or a nurse.” Family planning allows more women to take on professional careers, helping themselves and their families to work their way out of poverty. Lindsay Mgbor/DFID London Summit on Family Planning to halve number of women without access to contraceptives Image-15---The-time-is-now-.jpg By 2020, if an additional 120 million women who want contraceptives could get them, 200,000 fewer women and girls would die during pregnancy and childbirth - that's saving a woman’s life every 20 minutes. Access to contraceptives would mean nearly 3 million fewer babies dying in their first year of life. On 11 July 2012 the UK Government and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will host a groundbreaking summit to cut in half the current number of women and girls in the world’s poorest countries without access to contraception, but who wish to avoid pregnancy or space their children. Lindsay Mgbor/DFID

Mr Trump has not only threatened to cut all US contributions to the UN, calling the world body “a good time club,” but also reinstated the Mexico City Policy.

Also known as the “global gag rule,” the policy allows the administration to withhold US funding to any agencies or organisations that offer abortion services, or even speak about them to women.

Mr Trump has expanded on the version of the policy that was in place during the George W. Bush administration - US funding can now be cut to any global health assistance offered by organisations that offer or discuss abortion services, even medical services that have nothing to do with family planning or abortions.

Mr Bush actually amended the earlier version of “global gag” to exclude his largely successful State Department programme combating the spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa known as the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).

De-funding abortion services actually increased the number of unsafe abortions during the Bush administration however, according to a report by the World Health Organisation.

Sherry Colb, a professor at Cornell Law School who has focused on women’s reproductive rights, told The Independent that “people who want to cut off family planning services to women imagine that there is some set number of pregnancies that will happen and that therefore, the women will either have the babies or have an abortion.”

She said this could not be further from the truth, adding “many of these women will have abortions that they never would have had if they had had earlier access to contraception.”

Ms Colb explained the risk increases dramatically in areas of conflict where medical services and equipment may not be up to high standards due to funding cuts.

“Different actions same results...this administration simply does not want to own that,” Mr Rucks said.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that the decision by the United States to withdraw all funding could have “devastating effects” on vulnerable women and girls around the world, a spokesman has said.

“The Secretary-General deeply regrets the decision by the United States to cut financial support for the UN Population Fund, which could have devastating effects on the health of vulnerable women and girls and their families around the world,” Stephane Dujarric said.

He added that Mr Guterres has appealed to donors to increase their support. Britain, the top donor to UNFPA, continues to support the agency, British UN Ambassador Matthew Rycroft said.