New Fund Aims to Fill "Decency Gap" Left by Destructive U.S. Policy
Washington, DC - February 21, 2006PAI praises the U.K. Department for International Development (DFID) for pledging an initial 3 million pounds – the equivalent of over US$5 million – to a new fund supporting health organizations that have lost U.S. funding since the re-imposition of the Global Gag Rule. We also commend the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) for creating the fund, which will significantly reduce the number of unintended pregnancies and abortions worldwide.
Research led by PAI illustrates the devastating consequences of the Global Gag Rule. In Kenya, for example, 8 clinics have closed – most in rural areas where they were the only source of health services for their clients. Community-based outreach services providing contraceptives and HIV/AIDS education in Kenya's rural settings have also taken dramatic cuts. In Nepal, mobile clinics providing reproductive health care to rural regions have been discontinued. Both countries have some of the highest unmet need for contraceptives in the developing world.
The leadership of DFID and IPPF will take significant steps toward saving lives in areas most affected by the Global Gag Rule – and, at the same time, will reduce the unnecessarily high number of unintended pregnancies and abortions.
While the rest of the world is working to mediate the harm of the Global Gag Rule, the United States continues to march down a destructive path by cutting funding to foreign assistance programs that benefit the health and empowerment of women and children. PAI hopes donor countries will take a stand against harmful U.S. policies by helping to fill the “decency gap” through donations to this new DFID/IPPF fund. Without reliable and sustainable funding, organizations will continue to scramble to provide critical services, including basic contraceptive supplies – and millions more women will be at risk.
Population Action International (PAI) works to improve individual well-being and preserve global resources by mobilizing political and financial support for population, family planning and reproductive health policies and programs.
