World Governments, NGOs Announce $350m Investment in Sexual and Reproductive Health Services – Global Issues
UNITED NATIONS, Sep 26 (IPS) – After the Future Summit and on the sidelines of the United Nations High-level Assembly Week, governments and charities have pledged to donate at least USD 350 million to promote family planning, sexuality and reproduction. health and services at the national and international level. As stated in the recently adopted Pact for the Future, the search for new ways of international finance is essential to solving the problems facing the world today. The decision to commit is to show commitment to ongoing health issues.
On 24 September, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Family Planning 2030 (FP2030) and the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) invited prominent people from the private, development and government sectors to promote political will. on the issue of sustainable investment in sexual and reproductive health (SRH).
“Investing in reproductive assets is the ‘best buy’ to empower, empower women, improve maternal and newborn health outcomes, and boost the economy,” said Dr. Natalia Kanem, UNFPA Executive Director.
While speaking about UNFPA’s collaboration with co-organizers, Kanem noted: “What we are doing is changing lives. The life of a girl in her community, the life of a young child in her city, and empowering communities and families to be able to integrate and control their future.”
“Much of our world has happened through family planning,” said Dr. Samukeliso Dube, Executive Director of FP2030. “By enabling more women to shape their lives and futures, family planning has helped women complete their education, join the workforce, rise to leadership positions, and achieve their dreams.”
Donor countries, such as the United Kingdom, Canada, Norway, and Spain, have announced pledges to the UNFPA Supplies Partnership, which brings modern contraceptives and maternal health services to women and girls in low-income countries. Through this partnership, UNFPA has helped prevent 1.6 million child deaths, 254,000 maternal deaths, and 2.6 million unsafe abortions. Donations to UNFPA could save up to 9000 women and girls around the world. As Anneliese Dodds, Minister for Women’s Development and Inequalities in the UK, noted, investing in SRH was “crucial in ensuring that women are empowered.”
Speakers representing the governments of their countries promised to support domestic investment. The governments of Madagascar, Nepal, and the Kyrgyz Republic, for example, have announced domestic financial commitments to invest in SRH services in their countries.
Madagascar has announced a donation of USD 15 million for health services through UNFPA. Their public health minister, Zely Arivelo Randriamanantany, added that their goal was to increase access to contraceptives by more than 50 percent. Arzu Rana Deube, Nepal’s foreign minister, announced the government’s commitment of USD 600,000 to purchase high-quality contraceptives. Renat Mavlyanbai Uulu, Advisor to the Minister of Health, of the Kyrgyz Republic, announced a commitment of USD 119,000 for domestic services for family planning supplies.
As UNFPA’s Head of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Ayman Abdelmohsen told IPS, domestic financing commitments are important; indicates that “in allocating their resources … and budget,” those governments will prioritize SRH without relying on external donors. It is consistent with UNFPA’s joint agreements with 44 countries, where countries will build their capacity to provide comprehensive reproductive health with their resources.
Despite the predicted increase in access to contraceptives and maternal health by 2030, the current funding gap is why this is far in the future. The gap currently sits at at least USD 1.5 billion in the world’s poorest countries.
Throughout the event, speakers emphasized SRH’s ‘transformational’ potential in countries. That investing in SRH is investing in the agency of girls and women over health and life choices. In ensuring women’s sexual and reproductive health, it pays attention to protecting families and communities. In terms of funding, every dollar spent on family planning can generate more than $8 in benefits for families and communities.
Investing in health care also extends to workers within the sector. As Feri Anita Wijayanti, a registered midwife from Indonesia, explained to the panel, many communities rely on the expertise of midwives, whose responsibilities go “beyond delivering babies,” because they are at the forefront of addressing other health issues.
“Every second in every corner of the world, midwives work tirelessly to protect the health of women and children, and to provide sexual and reproductive health,” he said. Midwives have the potential to save an estimated 4.3 million lives each year by 2025. We urge you to invest in us, believe in the transformative power of midwives and start investing in sexuality and reproduction.”
Commitments by countries and the private sector are a step forward in closing the huge financing gap. They came at a time when the top leadership within the UN, namely the Secretary-General, urged countries to explore new ways of funding to address global inequality. The commitments made at this event show that despite the challenges of SRH, there is a political will to support, and can be mobilized to ensure this care for all.
IPS News UN Bureau
© Inter Press Service (2024) — All Rights ReservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service
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