“ Devastating Consequences ” for Women, Girls as U.S. Defunds UN Agency

Mothers and babies wait for health screening at a US funded health clinic in Uganda. Credit: Lyndal Rowlands / IPS.By Tharanga YakupitiyageUNITED NATIONS, Apr 5 2017 (IPS)The U.S. has withdrawn all of its funding to the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), an agency that works on family planning and reproductive health in over 150 countries.The decision is based on what the UNFPA says is an erroneous claim that it “supports, or participates in the management of, a program of coercive abortion or involuntary sterilisation (in China).”The claim was made by the U.S. State Department in a letter on Monday announcing the cuts, but has been described repeatedly as baseless, by those who know the UNFPA’s work.According to the UNFPA, it does not promote abortions and instead “accords the highest priority to voluntary family planning to prevent unintended pregnancies to eliminate recourse to abortion.”In a statement released in response to the funding cuts, the UNFPA said that “we have always valued the United States as a trusted partner and leader in helping to ensure that every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe, and every young person’s potential is fulfilled.”The U.S. is one of the largest contributors to UNFPA having provided over $75 million in 2015 alone, the third highest contribution from a government after the United Kingdom and Sweden. The U.S. is also the second largest funder of UNFPA’s humanitarian operations. Like o...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: Global & Universal Authors: Tags: Aid Development & Aid Featured Gender Gender Violence Headlines Health Human Rights Humanitarian Emergencies IPS UN: Inside the Glasshouse Population Women's Health Donald Trump United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Source Type: news