Victory in Washington for Women Everywhere

The UN Family Planning Association (UNFPA) reports that “the newly passed 2009 federal budget includes a $50 million contribution to the UNFPA. President Obama has signaled his intention to restore this funding to UNFPA so this is truly a great day for women around the world. After seven years in which no U.S. government funds were released to UNFPA – a period of time which saw the deaths of over 3 million women from preventable complications of pregnancy or childbirth – we will now, as the President said, “join 180 other donor nations working collaboratively to reduce poverty, improve the health of women and children, prevent HIV/AIDS and provide family planning assistance to women in 154 countries.””