On International Women’s Day Save the Children Welcomes Canada’s Commitment to the Rights of Women and Girls

On International Women’s Day Save the Children Welcomes Canada’s Commitment to the Rights of Women and Girls

 March 8, 2017… Save the Children is pleased by Canada’s contribution of $650 million over three years towards girls’ and women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights, as announced earlier today by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Access to sexual and reproductive health education and services has been a significant gap in the ongoing global effort to end maternal death and morbidity, in particular the deaths of adolescent girls. Canada’s leadership on this front now is crucial, particularly given the reinstatement of the Mexico City Policy by the United States.

Save the Children Director of Policy and Government Relations, Cicely McWilliam said, “Pregnancy and childbirth complications are the second leading cause of death among adolescent girls, 13 million of whom give birth annually. Women and girls have the fundamental right to make choices about their healthcare, whether or not to marry, and whether and when to have children.”

Save the Children looks forward to working with Canada to empower more women, adolescents and girls to take their lives into their own hands, including through the provision of sexual and reproductive health services and information, to ultimately improve gender equality in countries around the world.

While Save the Children strongly supports Canada’s efforts to contribute to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights, that funding must not come at the expense of other development sectors that are vital to fulfill the rights of children including education, child protection and poverty reduction. The organizations looks forward to the announcement of the 2017 Budget when we expect the Canadian government to fulfill its “Canada is Back” commitment with meaningful increases to the international assistance envelope.

ENDS