KATHMANDU, FEBRUARY 04
United States President Joe Biden's intention to restore US funding to UNFPA -- the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency -- will have an impact on the lives of women and girls in Nepal as well.
The funding is linked with life-saving maternal health care, family planning services, and programmes ending violence against women and girls, according to UNFPA.
In 2017, the Trump administration withdrew US government's funding to UNFPA and did not provide funding to the UN agency. However, US President Joe Biden, in a memorandum, said that his government would "take action to ensure that women at home and around the world are able to access complete medical information, including with respect to their reproductive health."
It was widely believed that the Expanded Global Gag Rule by the Trump administration impacted the availability of reproductive and sexual health care services in Nepal, undermining the progress the country has made in improving women's health.
"The return of the United States as a major donor to UNFPA at this challenging time sends a message of hope to vulnerable women and girls everywhere. COVID19 has put decades of hard-won progress at risk. With the support and solidarity of all our partners, I believe we can build back better and go even further to end needless deaths in childbirth, end violence against women and girls, and make family planning available to all who want it. I welcome the United States commitment to rejoining these efforts," said UNFPA Executive Director Dr Natalia Kanem.
