March 2, 2017…Aid agency Save the Children welcomes Canada’s contribution of $20 million towards women and girls’ sexual and reproductive health and rights, announced today in Brussels by Canadian Minister for International Development and La Francophonie, Marie-Claude Bibeau.
Save the Children is a rights-based organization that supports women and girls to access their full range of human rights, and works with partners and in coalitions worldwide to help ensure access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services for women and girls. The organization applauds the Government of Canada’s commitment to supporting access to the full range of health services and information that empower women, girls and adolescents to make their own choices.
Save the Children Director of Policy and Government Relations, Cicely McWilliam, speaking from the She Decides conference in Brussels, said, “Pregnancy and childbirth complications are responsible for the deaths of 290,000 women every year, and are the second leading cause of death among adolescent girls, 13 million of whom give birth annually.
“Save the Children knows the ability to make their own choices about healthcare, marriage and whether and when to have children can be a matter of life and death. Canada’s commitment today has the potential to help save the lives of women, adolescents and girls in the most remote regions of the world.”
The organization 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, the aid agency voiced its concern that the funding must not come at the expense of other vital services, including maternal, adolescent and child health. The organization awaits further clarity as to how Canada will continue its investments in international assistance to meet its commitments under the Sustainable Development Goals.
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Save the Children believes every child deserves a future. In Canada and around the world, we give children a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. We do whatever it takes for children – every day and in times of crisis – transforming their lives and the future we share.