On March 30th the Trump Administration announced that they will be defunding the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). UNFPA works in 150 countries providing a range of sexual and reproductive health services including: family planning, midwife training, prenatal care and safe childbirth, and programs to end child marriage and female genital cutting. The U.S. is the fourth largest donor to UNFPA and the loss of U.S. funding could mean the loss of services to 10.5 million women and girls.
Beyond these services UNFPA is on the frontlines in humanitarian crises and UNFPA’s work in humanitarian settings will be one of the areas hardest hit by the U.S. funding prohibition. Last year with U.S. funding UNFPA reached 9 million people in crisis settings with sexual and reproductive health care. Losing U.S. funding will put the lives of women and girls around the world at risk.
Robert Walker, President, Population Institute, commented on the Trump Administration’s defunding of UNFPA saying:
“Defunding UNFPA is another attack on women and women’s health by this administration. We are not even 100 days into this administration and so far they have reinstated the Global Gag Rule, allowed states to block abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood, from receiving Title X funding, and now they are defunding UNFPA. This is creating a clear pattern of attacking women’s health and rights, putting women’s lives at risk both at home and abroad. Because make no mistake women’s lives will be at risk due to defunding UNFPA.”