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AFGHANISTAN, AFRICA, ASIA, CHAD, CHINA, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO, EUROPE, GAZA, GAZA STRIP, GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE, HAITI, HEALTH CARE, HUMANITARIAN AID, HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE, MALI, NORTH AMERICA, SUDAN, SYRIA, UKRAINE, UN, UN REPRODUCTIVE AND SEXUAL HEALTH, UNFPA, UNITED STATES, US, US STATE DEPARTMENT, USAID
Nia Simpson
US Cuts $377 Million in UNFPA Funding, Jeopardizing Women’s Health Services
The United States has cut $377 million in funding to UNFPA, impacting essential services for women and girls globally. Nearly all USAID grants have been terminated, which threatens critical maternal healthcare, protection from violence, and other lifesaving interventions. UNFPA partners with 150 countries to improve reproductive health and alleviate gender-based violence.
The United States has officially reduced funding to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) by $377 million, jeopardizing vital support for women and girls worldwide. This reduction was confirmed on Thursday, with UNFPA stating that nearly all of its grants with USAID and the U.S. State Department have been terminated. Such a decision is projected to have dire consequences for the health and safety of women and girls, alongside the aid workers dedicated to serving them.
The terminated grants were crucial in providing essential maternal healthcare, preventing violence, administering treatment for assault, and offering other lifesaving medical services in desperate humanitarian contexts. UNFPA’s initiatives aimed to mitigate maternal mortality, ensure safe childbirths, and combat the violence women and girls endure across areas afflicted by conflict and crisis, such as Gaza, Sudan, and Ukraine.
UNFPA collaborates with 150 nations to expand access to a comprehensive array of sexual and reproductive health services. Its mission includes addressing unmet family planning needs, reducing preventable maternal mortality, tackling gender-based violence, and eliminating harmful practices such as child marriage and female genital mutilation by the year 2030. The organization acknowledges that the grants recently terminated, which were previously protected by humanitarian waivers, were integral lifesaving interventions for the most vulnerable populations.
Programs funded by these grants operated in various countries, including Afghanistan, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Mali, Sudan, Syria and its neighboring nations, and Ukraine. The cessation of this funding could significantly hinder progress in these regions, exacerbating existing challenges faced by women and girls in severe need of support.
In conclusion, the recent $377 million funding cuts by the United States to UNFPA signify a critical setback in support for women and girls worldwide. The termination of these grants threatens essential services that combat maternal mortality and gender-based violence in regions facing humanitarian crises. Given UNFPA’s extensive work in over 150 countries, this decision may lead to severe repercussions for vulnerable populations and impede global efforts to improve reproductive and sexual health.
Original Source: news.un.org
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