Statement from UAP Executive Director Dilly Severin on House Appropriations Committee Passage of the FY2024 State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs Bill

Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Committee approved a spending bill that includes severe funding cuts for global reproductive health and global health programming. These include a 24% cut to family planning and reproductive health compared to FY23 enacted levels, elimination of support for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the UN agency dedicated to sexual and reproductive health, and reinstatement of the expanded Global Gag Rule, among other harmful policy riders.

Statement from Universal Access Project Executive Director Dilly Severin: 

“The current environment of overlapping crises has taught us that health knows no borders, and that we are connected as a global community. What happens overseas affects all of us.  Simply put, this spending bill is not only dangerously shortsighted, it is an affront to justice and to human rights. These proposed cuts are the most draconian we have seen to global health, international family planning, and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) in more than a decade. Further, by zeroing out U.S. support for UNFPA, the bill would severely hinder the agency’s critical work to respond to the SRHR needs of those who are most in need, especially in humanitarian settings. 

The ability of people around the world to live healthy, safe and prosperous lives depends on their ability to access SRHR. This is not an abstract or academic issue. Evidence shows that when essential funding for services, supplies and programming is slashed, the most vulnerable populations are affected, and people will die. 

The U.S. cannot afford to cede its leadership at this critical time, when the world is still experiencing the effects of COVID-19 as well as multiple ongoing and intersecting humanitarian crises. If adopted as law, these cuts will disproportionately affect those who are already bearing the brunt of these impacts. At a bare minimum, we should maintain FY23 spending levels and not inflict further damage to those who can ill afford to suffer more. 

We are grateful to Members of Congress who continue to speak in support of reproductive health and rights in the face of these unconscionable and disingenuous proposals, particularly Congresswomen Barbara Lee, Rosa DeLauro, Lois Frankel, and others who have worked to defend UNFPA and bilateral funding. We need this leadership now more than ever.”