Document resource
In January 2025, Zambia’s Stamping Out and Preventing Gender-Based Violence (STOP GBV) programme, one of the country’s most comprehensive multisectoral initiatives, abruptly halted after US Agency for International Development (USAID) suspended funding due to changing political landscapes.1 Within months, shelters closed, access to HIV prophylaxis diminished and thousands of survivors were left without support. This funding shock disrupted gender-based violence (GBV) and sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services and exposed critical gaps in how public health research anticipates and responds to external shocks.