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The 2026 Global Gag Rules on U.S. Foreign Assistance: What They Mean for LGBTIQ Inclusion, Gender, and Equity
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March 19, 2026
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Outright International's analysis of the Promoting Human Flourishing in Foreign Assistance policy and recommendations for recipients and donor governments
In January 2026, the Trump administration introduced the Promoting Human Flourishing in Foreign Assistance (PHFFA) policy, establishing three rules governing U.S. State Department foreign assistance and requiring recipients to accept new restrictions as a condition of funding. These rules, which took effect on February 26, expand upon a “global gag rule” issued under previous Republican administrations in the U.S. that has restricted what organizations receiving U.S. foreign assistance can say or do on abortion. The new set of global gag rules addresses a range of politically contested issues, extending beyond abortion to constrain programming, advocacy, and services related to gender identity and equity.
What the rules restrict
The rules prohibit recipients from promoting what the administration defines as “gender ideology,” “discriminatory equity ideology,” and abortion as a method of family planning. Non-governmental organizations based in the U.S. are restricted primarily in activities tied to U.S. funding, while foreign NGOs and international organizations may face broader organization-wide restrictions outside the United States, regardless of funding source.
Why it matters
The policy represents a structural shift in U.S. foreign assistance, conditioning development funding on alignment with the administration’s ideological positions and constraining governments, multilaterals, and NGOs. The rules are likely to undermine global health, education, and economic development outcomes, particularly for marginalized populations.
Outright's recommendations
In this brief, Outright International offers a series of recommendations to current and potential U.S. foreign assistance recipients and donor governments, including:
- Avoiding over-compliance with the rules' vague terms
- Maintaining existing non-discrimination obligations
- Negotiating implementation terms with U.S. agencies
- Coordinating responses across institutions
- Protecting subrecipients from disproportionate impact
- Encouraging other donors to offset funding gaps created by the policy
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