American Foreign Policy and Women’s Global Health

Dear Ankia

 

W B Daniels, 10:35 AM

Are we still live?

 

joalap, 10:35 AM

Anika, I remember that Americans for UNFPA visited Malawi last year. How would you compare Malawi's maternal problems to other countries you have been to? I see the Malawi situation as desperate - I think the situation needs to improve as soon as possible. What do you think?

 

Pilirani, 10:35 AM

Yes, this event is still live.

 

denirobey, 10:36 AM

Are there any specifics already being spoken about by the incoming administration? or is there an opportunity here to present the new government with some concrete objectives?

 

Alexandra Daniels, 10:36 AM

Kate, Thanks for asking. During the last 8 years (40 actually), the US congress allocates a contribution to UNFPA. Like all UN agencies, UNFPA is not funded by regular dues, but by voluntary contributions -- primarily by governments. For the last 7 years, the Bush Administration has refused to release funds allocated to UNFPA by our Congress. This is a part of the problem when a country funds solutions ONLY based on its own strategic interests and with its own stamp of morality. It is important that the US also participate in international solutions like those provided by UNFPA, which is based on the needs identified in-country by women and governments.

 

Anika, 10:37 AM

As far as I know, the main reason the funding was cut off was because this administration would not support the use of contraceptives and the education on reproductive choice. Is that correct?

 

BonitaBanducci, 10:38 AM

Dear Anika-Will target countries resist your list of inteventions?

 

W B Daniels, 10:38 AM

Megha, exactly my point. It is better through an activist mode to strengthen the struggles at grass roots level for for instance activists in India. Many groups have made Access to Health a movement, and they are waiting for a powerful administration which we hope Barak Obama's could become to support thei movement.

 

Parul S, 10:39 AM

Yes, the chat is live until 12pm EST...

 

Sarah Mac, 10:39 AM

I like BonitaBanducci's recommendation. Again, reaching out to our elected representatives can be so powerful. I recently joined results.org and was so encouraged to see public will generating political will in action.

 

Kate Daniels, 10:39 AM

Aralena, thank you for the question about the religious and cultural obstacles we face. In terms of UNFPA’s work around the world, they face the same sorts of hurdles that I think all organizations that do this sort of work encounter – a frequent lack of understanding about the importance of addressing women’s rights and health, or even a reluctance to face these issues. UNFPA’s approach is to embrace and support the best examples of programs run by locals, bringing the funds and encouragement needed to help these programs grow. UNFPA does not have a ‘cookie-cutter’ solution to the myriad problems women face in different parts of the world, but works address them in the context of each nation and culture.

 

Anika, 10:39 AM

Dear Bonita, Your assessment of the situation is correct.

 

Anika, 10:40 AM

Dear WB Daniels, Because UNFPA has offices in over 150 countries around the world and works with each of the governments in those nations, its strategies and actions have on-the-ground local support.

 

Anika, 10:42 AM

Are women's health inteventions part of the "war-on-terror?

 

W B Daniels, 10:44 AM

I would like to remind everyone that Pilirani Semu-Banda, WIP Contributor from Malawi and Parul Sharma, WIP Contributor from Sweden, are also on that chat. Please feel free to direct some of your questions to them. This will also give Anika a chance to answer some of the great questions she has been asked.

 

Kate Daniels, 10:44 AM

I'd like to address several questions. We are very optimistic about the new Administration funding UNFPA and generally supporting women globally. We have no way of knowing for sure how that will look, particularly in light of our current economic climate. We have every reason to believe that our participation in multilateral solutions will be welcome. It is not just about U.S. funds. We need the weight of US participation in the United Nations to have a positive impact in the global fight for peace, poverty eradication and women's equality.

 

Anika, 10:46 AM

Maybe Pilirani and Parul Sharma each comment on the importance of U.S. involvement from your perspective reporting from the field.

 

denirobey, 10:48 AM

If the USA provides foreign aid for health care, in what form should it be given so that it is directly accessible by women and women health organizations? My biggest concern is that these funds or support will be diverted to other areas.

 

RYAN, 10:50 AM

To address what can be done . . . The writers for WIP are obvioulsy doing a great deal to highlight the challenges women face around the world and to make this info accessible to an American audience (though I know that your readers are from all over the world). What others can do is to become as informed as possible and never miss an opportunity to spread awareness. A challenge is for Americans to understand what the health of a woman in India or Senegal means to us here. You can join us in our efforts to advocate on behalf of women in DC because this is an excellent way to get involved to make a real difference. Systematic change in the way Americans think of these issues has to come from a grassroots movement.

 

Anika, 10:51 AM

Well, I think it is important for the new US admin. not to reinvent the wheel, on health issues but carefully listen to people's voices in affected countries. What are their demands, what are women's day to day problems in health, what socio-cultural issues are people fighting against to obtain health for women, etc etc, these are questions the new administration should look at in my view.

 

Parul S, 10:51 AM

Hello everyone. I am from Pakistan where Violence against women is often shoved under the carpet. I would like to know what UNFPAs stance on wiolence against women in connection to their reproductive rights? Is it a rights issue or a health issue?

 

zofeen, 10:52 AM

Dear Ankia - In which Islamic countries does UNFPA have offices? If it has none, why is that so?

 

W B Daniels, 10:52 AM

Hillary Clinton is one person to build communication with. She rocked the world in 1995 from Beijing about women's rights and she can do it much moreso, now. Communicating directly to her office would also be effective--from anywhere in the world.

 

BonitaBanducci, 10:52 AM

Ryan, that is a good question. Anika, can you talk any further on the need for transparency in giving. Has the UNFPA faced challenges in this area?

 

Kate Daniels, 10:53 AM

Hillary Clinton would have her hands full, come january 20th. I think Joe Biden would be a better person to approach.

 

sumukha, 10:55 AM

Dear WB Daniels, Promoting women's health and rights addresses so many objectives and goals. First and foremost, women everywhere have an inherent right to equality and dignity. Helping women achieve their full humanity is itself an incredible thing. Secondly, if one were to look at common global objectives that can also be promoted by supporting women's equality, then there is no doubt that included in the list of what we could achieve by supporting women would be: poverty alleviation, sustainable economic growth and peace.

 

Anika, 10:56 AM

Dear Zofeen - What difference would the distinction between "rights" and "health" make in your country?

 

W B Daniels, 10:57 AM

Great suggestion to communicate with Hillary Clinton's office - both from inside the US and from abroad.

 

Kate Daniels, 10:57 AM

What are some effective ways to generate visibility, for example Biden's Bill was mentioned, that actually work? I hadn't heard of his Bill as i'm sure most not particularly active people in this county haven't either. How do we involve the general pubic? How does this information get to them?

 

Mitra, 10:57 AM

I like to come back to the point of reaching out to elected officials to say that in the US, the power of constituents should never be underestimating. In many instances, this can be the only way to impact policies and to push policy makers to hear the voice of the base. I think any draft agenda here should be organized around reaching out to policy makers and elected officials. The arguments and the message to push them to see things through our lens are numerous. But there need to be a group of committed Americans willing to get organized around that.

 

nguefack, 11:00 AM

The maternal mortality rate in Malawi is dire indeed. here is a death rate of 1,800 per 100,000 live births (versus 43 deaths per 100,000 in the US). UNFPA advocates for a 3-pronged approach to safe motherhood: increased access to contraception; ensure skilled birth attendants; and provide access to emergency obstetric services. This works! On the advocacy end, part of our challenge is to make it clear to Americans that maternal death is an enormous challenge around the world -- every minute a woman dies in pregnancy/child birth and almost of these deaths could be prevented.

 

Anika, 11:01 AM

Pilirani and Parul- Have the recent the U.S. elections resulted in hope or optimism in your countries. Can you tell us as little bit about the public dialogue around global health and U.S. foreign policies in your countries?

 

AMartyn, 11:02 AM

Hi Mitra - I'd like to address your questions about effective ways to generate visibility. You can sign up on our site www.americansforunfpa.org and you'll receive updates and opportunties to be involved. This will be very important with the new Congress and last year's bills, like Biden's, will find new sponsors. Just to give you an example, for the FY09 House appropriations budget includes an allocation 40% higher than the FY08 budget and we like to think we had a lot to do with that.

 

denirobey, 11:02 AM

I totally agree with you nguefack.

It's pretty easy to start your own grassroots awareness campaign here in the US and abroad by doing a bit of research to get the important statistics from the UNFPA's website and draft a form letter. Each and every one of us could do this and provide all our friends with the letter (via email) along with contact info for our elected officials and start getting the word out.

If we do nothing, we should expect nothing.

 

Sarah Mac, 11:03 AM

What about a The WIP petition to selected elected officials?

 

W B Daniels, 11:03 AM

That's a great idea, W B.

 

Alexandra Daniels, 11:04 AM

With the internets ability to connect us all globally, a message to the government coming from people on every continent could have quite an impact.

 

Alexandra Daniels, 11:05 AM

WB Daniels, UNFPA does have offices in several Islamic nations. It has an entire regional division focused on Arab States. Many of the largest Muslim nations in the world exist in Asia and UNFPA has programs in all these countries. One of UNFPA's regional headquarters is in Amman, Jordan. It works to manage programs in the Middle East. Perhaps one of the most important ways to bridge the cultural difference between East and West is the current Executive Director of UNFPA, Thoraya Obaid, who is from Saudi Arabia.

 

Anika, 11:07 AM

Bidens bills was called, I-VAWA, for International Violence Against Women Act. i am quoting here " the bill--based on the premise that financial independence helps protect women from domestic violence--will include provisions to promote more equitable property rights, teach women how to build credit, improve women's access to education and job training programs, provide training and sensitization programs for judges and judicial officials, raise awareness of gender violence in the workplace, increase women's access to reproductive health services and incorporate domestic violence and sexual assault screening into HIV/AIDS programs."

 

sumukha, 11:07 AM

A Martyn - The US elections attracted a lot of attention in Malawi. You could walk in the streets and hear people talking that the world will change for the better. People are really hopeful for better things - one of them being more developmental aid.

 

Pilirani, 11:08 AM

A WIP petition is a possibility but what is so great about partnerships like this one with American's for the UNFPA is we do not have to reinvent the wheel. We can just join them. What they are accomplishing at www.americansforunfpa.org is very effective.

 

Kate Daniels, 11:09 AM

Good to know. I will look it up. Thank you

 

Alexandra Daniels, 11:09 AM

With regard to advocacy we can get involved in ourselves, Americans for UNFPA actually maintains a legislative Action Center, and has an annual Lobby Day in March focused on showing US elected officials that their consituents care about global women's health. You can find our more about Americans for UNFPA's advocacy work at: www.americansforunfpa.org/getinvolved

 

Jesse, 11:10 AM

Dear Zofeen, Your question gets to a really important point. Violence against women is a human rights violation as well as matter of health. UNFPA began as an entity that provided women's health care -- contraception, emergency obstetrical care, etc. But one cannot adequately deal with women's health if women are not valued and are victims of violence. So, over the years, UNFPA has expanded its work to address violence against women. This is particularly important in situations of conflict where women are the ones who are displaced or are refugees.

 

Anika, 11:10 AM

Kate, Anika, Pilirani and Parul - you are all great examples of women doing something to promote an issue you believe in strongly. Can you each talk a little about how you came to your work.

 

denirobey, 11:12 AM

Ryan, You are bringing up a very good point about getting aid to women. This is a real challenge in many nations. One way to deal with it is to directly support programs run by women themselves. This is an approach that UNFPA favors and incorporates when it is available. The remarkable woman in Nepal, Aasmani Choudhury, who I already mentioned, is just one such example. UNFPA works with women's organizations around the world and supports their mission and goals.

 

Anika, 11:12 AM

Deni, thank you for asking. I had the opportunity to travel a great deal in my 20's, especially throughout Central and South America. I was fortunate to learn the histories of the countries I visited from the people I met. Learning in this way proved so much more meaningful and powerful than the way I had learned in school. I experienced current events that were missing from the news I read back home. The stories I experienced offered a depth and a perspective that was absent from our media. With the internet and the connections we are fostering with women on the ground it is possible to make this experience real for all of us. As one of our readers once commented, "Statistics are forgotten, stories are not."

 

Kate Daniels, 11:17 AM

Deni, Thanks for that. My passion for my work is entirely personal. I grew up in South Asia in a family filled with very strong women. I saw first hand how society did not take my grandmother, mother and aunt seriously just because they were women. Also, my mother was divorced and I saw how she suffered while my father did not. I made a vow to work to ensure that all women have the equality and respect that were my grandmother's due. I have never looked back on that promise.

 

Anika, 11:17 AM

Anika, Pilirani, and Parul, I know there is a slight posting delay but in case you missed Deni's great question below, it would be very interesting to hear how your came to your work.

 

Kate Daniels, 11:19 AM

We've got just about 40 minutes left. This has been a fascinating discussion and we thank you all for your well-thought out questions. Are there any others?

 

denirobey, 11:24 AM

Hi everyone - you may need to refresh your browser to keep up with the conversation...

 

Sarah Mac, 11:25 AM

Greetings,

Most Americans are familiar with the UN agency UNICEF, but there's very little recognition for the UNFPA. Why is that?

 

arvind, 11:25 AM

I'd love to know how Pilirani and Parul got started doing the work that they do...

 

Sarah Mac, 11:25 AM

You could also strengthen the advocacy by including victims in the lobby i.e. have women who have recovered from fistula or who nearly died in child

 

Pilirani, 11:28 AM

Arvind, Thanks for that question. UNFPA is a significantly "younger" organization than UNICEF. UNFPA turns 40 in 2009!! (UNICEF is about 2 decades older!) Also, as a professional who has dedicated her career to women's rights issues, I know first hand how much more difficult and controversial women's issues are considered, especially when contrasted with children's problems. Having said this, I note that women are usual at the center of family life and the primary caretakers of children around the world. If we want to take care of children, we must ensure the equality and health of women.

 

Anika, 11:29 AM

Bringing aid closer to women ahs to be ensured by firstly ensuring that the power holders actually adress them as much a part of the society. In India for instance when haryana gives the highest pre natal death of girl child stats what stops the court from declaring that the state has abridged its duty of providing right to life to the girl and here i see UNFPA and this global woman forum getting actively involved in seeking those pertinent answers. Why is it that when a NGO goes into a village and launches a program the plethora of departments become more laxed in their approach of implementation of the policies. With laws like MTP Act, PNDT act why is it that ineffective implementation of the word of law is not being questioned? I would like the participants to dwell on this and contribute further, because for me The Constituion of this country is the mandate and by not bringing health and fundamental rights closer to women the sate violates its duty and therefore liable to be prosecuted. But the deal remains its never been done, so how about making the state more answerable.

 

meghabhagat, 11:29 AM

Just an observation: this is a my first global conversation. I think more like it can bring understanding a host of critical problems and inspire world activism to solve them. Thanks.

 

W B Daniels, 11:30 AM

I'd like to ask our participants - is this your first introduction to UNFPA or had you heard of it before. For those of you abroad, do you encounter UNFPA in your work?

 

denirobey, 11:33 AM