Statement from UAP Executive Director Seema Jalan on the House Passage of FY2022 State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Bill
Yesterday evening, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the FY2022 State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs (SFOPs) bill, which includes robust funding increases for global reproductive health programming, doubles support for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA, the UN agency dedicated to sexual and reproductive health), and addresses both a permanent repeal of the global gag rule and the longstanding harm of the Helms amendment.
Statement from Universal Access Project Executive Director Seema Jalan:
“The House passage of the FY2022 SFOPs bill is an incredible step forward in restoring the United States as a leader in global sexual and reproductive health and rights and laying the groundwork for what we hope will be a truly progressive and transformative U.S. foreign policy that centers the health, well-being, and self-determination of people everywhere. This action paves an unprecedented – and long overdue – pathway to permanently end the global gag rule, which has for decades stripped individual rights and destabilized entire health systems, while eliminating the harmful and discriminatory Helms amendment. It also bolsters global reproductive health programming and the essential work of UNFPA at a time when we need it most -- as COVID continues to disproportionately harm girls and women and bring longstanding inequities to the forefront.”
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