WASHINGTON (April 4, 2017) – CARE today denounced the U.S. State Department’s decision to immediately cut off funding to the United Nation’s Population Fund (UNFPA), a critical development organization that provides life-saving health care to women and families around the globe, including voluntary family planning, midwife training, prenatal care and safe delivery services.
“Promoting global health is a non-partisan issue. As an organization focused on combating global poverty around the world, CARE is deeply troubled by the Trump Administration’s misguided decision to defund UNFPA,” said David Ray, vice president of policy and advocacy at CARE. “UNFPA provides life-saving health care to countless women and girls worldwide, and CARE knows that when U.S. policy restricts access to vital global health services, vulnerable women and children suffer the most.”
In January, members of the Trump transition team stated they would “ensure the rights of women across the world are valued and protected.” We call on the Trump Administration to live up to their statement and ensure that women around the world have access to the critical health care services they need. CARE stands with UNFPA and other vital poverty-fighting organizations in providing voluntary health services to vulnerable women and families.
In 2016, UNFPA received $69 million in funding from the U.S. government, which mainly went to support humanitarian crises, including the Syria refugee response at Zataari camp in Jordan. Through the work of UNFPA, more than 7,000 babies have been delivered at this camp without a single maternal death. This loss of funding is a matter of life or death for families in the camp: nearly 50,000 people will lose safe delivery services in Jordan’s refugee camps, a devastating consequence of this deeply flawed decision.
CARE’s experience working in 94 countries to provide development and humanitarian assistance indicates that this move by the State Department is dangerous and will put innocent lives at risk. Every day more than 800 women still die from pregnancy-related complications. We have the capability to save lives and end needless maternal and child deaths around the world. We should not restrict care and deny funding to life-saving programs. CARE calls on the Trump Administration to stand by our American values and restore full funding to UNFPA to ensure they can continue providing access to health services for the world’s most vulnerable populations.
ABOUT CARE
Founded in 1945, CARE is a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty. CARE places special focus on working alongside poor girls and women because, equipped with the proper resources, they have the power to lift whole families and entire communities out of poverty. Last year, CARE worked in 94 countries and reached more than 80 million people around the world. To learn more, please visit www.care.org.
Media Contacts
Nicole Ellis, +1-202-560-1791, nicole.ellis@care.org