Supporting Women and Children is a Down-Payment on a Healthy Future
For the last several months, discussions around the state of the federal budget and lifting the debt ceiling have dominated the national rhetoric — and the latest news is grim. It is an understatement to say that we are facing fiscal austerity and increasing cutbacks, and all programs and national priorities are going to take a hit. But before breaking for recess, the House Appropriations Committee released a FY2012 State and Foreign Operations Appropriations bill that disproportionately targets global poverty fighting programs and will negatively impact the health of millions of women and their families around the world. Despite the need for fiscal discipline, this bill goes too far and will have negative repercussions on millions of women around the world.
Overall, global health programs were cut by 9% and development assistance was reduced by 18%. Although the subcommittee bill does not lay out specific allocations for programs in detail, it is clear that this bill could have detrimental consequences for life saving women’s health programs around the world. For example, family planning and reproductive health programs will be cut back to FY2008 funding levels. Additionally, the bill would reinstate the Global Gag Rule, which prohibits U.S. development assistance from going to any recipient that provides access to or advises women about safe abortion. That’s not to say it restricts funding for abortions — a law is already firmly in place that safeguards U.S. funds from ever funding abortion programs. But under the Global Gag Rule, by even talking to a woman about her options, an organization would be excluded from receiving U.S. funds for other programs that provide access to voluntary family planning tools, maternal health coverage or other life-saving services. The bill also prohibits any funding to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) — the largest multilateral source of reproductive healthassistance in the world.
Budget cuts such as the ones proposed by the House bill will significantly hinder the U.S. Government’s ability to work towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals and to continue to serve as a leader in global health and international development. These are relatively small accounts with the entire foreign assistance budget barely representing 1% of the total budget. Disproportionately targeting these life saving accounts that are helping women around the world to raise healthy, stable families is not the answer to solving our fiscal situation. Moving forward in the federal budget process, it is critical for the House and Senate to recognize the importance of global health and development programs and their role in creating a healthy, secure future for the world’s next generation of mothers and children.
Our friends at ONE have started a petition asking members of Congress to take this into consideration when they turn back to the FY2012 budget. Please click here to add your name.
