ACTUALITÉS

Canada champions sexual and reproductive health and rights at Family Planning Summit in London

News Release

July 11, 2017 – Ottawa, Ontario – Global Affairs Canada

With its Feminist International Assistance Policy, Canada is taking a leadership role by championing the sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) of women and girls at the Family Planning Summit in London, United Kingdom.

The Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of International Development and La Francophonie, today announced up to $241.5 million in funding for projects supporting SRHR. This investment is part of Canada’s $650-million comprehensive approach to address gaps in funding for SRHR.

Canada’s approach to SRHR recognizes the vital role of family planning in empowering women and girls, including in humanitarian settings. Canada’s new Feminist International Assistance Policy applies a human rights approach that advances gender equality and promotes equal rights for women and girls as the most effective way to reduce poverty.

Projects supported by today’s announcement will provide comprehensive sexuality education, strengthen reproductive health services and invest in family planning and contraceptives. They will also help prevent and respond to sexual and gender-based violence and to child, early and forced marriage; support the right to choose safe and legal abortion; and increase access to post-abortion care. Organizations receiving funding will also work with local women’s groups’ ‎to carry out their respective projects successfully.

Canada’s new Feminist International Assistance Policy will also address the unique needs of adolescent girls and target the hardest to reach, including women and girls in humanitarian crises, and regions of significant need such as Africa, which will receive over 65% of the $241.5 million.

Canada will join Family Planning 2020, the Ouagadougou Partnership, and the global She Decides movement to leverage resources with a broad range of partners, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and respond to the funding gap in SRHR for adolescents. Together, these initiatives will enable 120 million more women and girls to use contraceptives by 2020 and accelerate progress in the use of family planning services in targeted countries.

Quotes

“Canada will lend its voice on the world stage to defend the sexual and reproductive rights of women and adolescent girls. Women’s empowerment begins with the right of all women and adolescents to be in control of their bodies and make their own decisions.”

Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of International Development and La Francophonie

Quick Facts

  • Approximately 214 million women and girls around the world have unmet needs for modern contraception. Complications in pregnancy and childbirth are a leading cause of death for adolescent girls between the ages of 15 and 19 in developing countries.
  • Maternal mortality is unacceptably high. Every day, about 830 women die from complications related to pregnancy or childbirth.
  • Every year, an estimated 22 million women and girls worldwide put their lives at risk by undergoing unsafe abortions.
  • Every $1 spent on contraceptive services in developing regions saves $2.30 in maternal and newborn health care services due to declines in unintended pregnancies.

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Associated Links

Contacts

Marie-Emmanuelle Cadieux
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of International Development and La Francophonie
343-203-6238
marie-emmanuelle.cadieux@international.gc.ca

Media Relations Office
Global Affairs Canada
343-203-7700
media@international.gc.ca
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Government of Canada

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