#FundUNFPA to Support Women and Girls Around the World

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In 1994, the United Nation’s Population Fund (UNFPA) held the International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo, Egypt. The idea of population shifted from demographic trends and numbers to individuals that have a right to determine and plan their family size. Ensuring the empowerment of women and girls around the world became the resulting plan of action. Sarah Craven, the Washington representative for UNFPA, talks to us about the ideal family planning scenario around the world; every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe, and every young person can live their life with full potential.

How can we achieve this standard? UNFPA has three specific goals it addresses: 1) meeting unmet need for family planning; 2) ending preventable maternal deaths; 3) ending gender-based violence and other harmful practices.

Family planning is central to women’s empowerment and development. More than 214 million women who want to plan their families and their births don’t have access to contraception. UNFPA works to provide those resources and meet the unmet need. By providing commodities like birth control and condoms, those who need these family planning initiatives receive the resources and the education of knowing these contraceptives exist and are accessible.

In rural areas, women are often subject to preventable maternal deaths. This may be due to lack of access to contraception and family planning services, skilled birth attendants, or medical professionals who have knowledge of obstructive labors.

1 in 3 women experience physical or sexual violence, and 1 in 4 girls will get married before the age of 18. UNFPA works with policy makers, judicial systems, health systems and other humanitarian groups like UNICEF, in an attempt to eradicate gender-based violence, child marriage, and female genital mutilation/cutting.

Since the change in administration in the United States, UNFPA has experienced a loss of political and financial support from the United States.   UNFPA works in 150 countries providing a range of sexual and reproductive health services including: family planning, midwife training, prenatal care and safe childbirth, and programs to end child marriage and female genital cutting. The U.S. was the fourth largest donor to UNFPA and the loss of U.S. funding could mean the loss of services to 10.5 million women and girls.

Beyond these services UNFPA is on the frontlines in humanitarian crises and UNFPA’s work in humanitarian settings will be one of the areas hardest hit by the U.S. funding prohibition. In 2016 with U.S. funding UNFPA reached 9 million people in crisis settings with sexual and reproductive health care.  Losing U.S. funding will put the lives of women and girls around the world at risk.

Links from this episode

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UNFPA on Twitter
UNFPA on Facebook

Transcript

Jennie: Welcome to rePROs Fight Back a podcast on all things repro. I'm your host Jennie Wetter. In each episode, I'll be taking you to the front lines of the escalating fight over our sexual and reproductive health and rights at home and abroad. Each episode, I will be speaking with leaders who are fighting to protect our reproductive health and rights to ensure that no one's reproductive health depends on where they live. It's time for repros to fight back.

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Jennie: Welcome to rePROs Fight Back. This episode is extra special to me because I get to interview one of the very first people who ever reached out to me when I started working in this field. So I'm super excited that I get to interview her as one of my first guests. Uh, so today I'm really excited to talk to Sarah Craven, the Washington representative for the United Nations Population Fund or UNFPA, which is probably how you hear us refer to it throughout the entire interview. So welcome, Sarah. Thank you for being here.

Sarah: Oh, thank you Jennie. I'm so happy to be here as well.

Jennie: All right. So let's start at the beginning and really simple. What is UNFPA?

Sarah: Well, that's a really good question. I get asked all the time. One reason is because our name and our acronym don't match. Um, we were created, actually next year is going to be our 50th anniversary.

Jennie: Wow. Our's too.

Sarah: Oh, well there may be a correlation. We were created in 1969 and at the time, uh, the world was really focused on the idea of unchecked population growth population. Um, there was a book by Paul Ehrlich called the Population Bomb. And it was actually President Nixon and the CIA who came forward with this idea of population being a concern. So we, we started out as the UN Fund for Population Activities, uh, over the years that became UNFPA. Um, and then we changed our name to the United Nations Population Fund, which in some ways I think is a misnomer, because when we talk today about what our work does, uh, you'll see that it's, it's very expansive in terms of what we mean by population. And our work really changed in 1994 and that's when the world came together at the Cairo Conference to have a new view of this. But I don't know if we'll talk about that as we go on or you want me to...

Jennie: Oh, let's go ahead and talk about the Cairo Conference. I think that's a real turning point, particularly around population, but kind of in human rights and reproductive health in general. And it would be really a miss to skip it.

Sarah: Well, just that it, that it's at that conference in 1994, the world came together and said, you know what? We're going to look at population in a different way. We're going to look at it instead of demographic trends and numbers. Not that that's not important, but really looking at the idea that every individual has the right to freely and voluntarily determine family size and have the means to do so. And the key to that work is ensuring that all women and girls are empowered, that they have access to health care, to education, to their rights, to um, go to school. Uh, that whole piece of empowering women and girls. So that, uh, 1994, the program of action that came from that conference has been the mandate for our work. And then now this year, uh, we are just starting a new, a strategic plan which builds on that work but also focuses it in a new way. So we like to describe ourselves as the reproductive health and rights agency, where we're trying to make sure that we have a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe, and every young person can live their life to full potential.

Jennie: I mean, it sounds so simple and obvious, but there's a lot of complex things contained within that mandate and the thought of what you're doing.

Sarah: Ah, well, you know, um, there is a lot and, and we're trying to, this year, as I say, we have a new strategic plan and we have what we view as three transformational goals. And in that as you say there's a lot to unpack, but the three goals are pretty simple. Uh, one is we're working with all members of the UN system to try to meet the Sustainable Development Goals. And the way we see it, UNFPA, our piece of that is to ensure that we're trying to meet or meet the unmet need for family planning. Uh, we want to end preventable maternal deaths and we want to end gender based violence and harmful practices such as female genital mutilation and child marriage. So that's the kind of core of our work. Uh, we work in over 150 countries around the world. We work with governments, we work with nongovernmental actors, uh, we work at all levels of society to try to, to reach that, uh, vision.

Jennie: So let's unpack a little bit of each of those three focus areas because we know exactly what that means, each of those mean. I think some people might not understand. So let's start with the first one, which is meeting unmet need. And I think there's a lot of confusion about what that means.

Sarah: Uh, we at UNFPA believe that family planning is central to women's empowerment and to sustainable development. Uh, right now there's more than 300 million women who are, uh, using contraception, but there's more than 214 million women who want to plan their births and their families and don't have access to modern family planning. And often in most countries, those are the most vulnerable. They're people who are either in very vulnerable populations, they're living in very rural areas. So we work in different countries to ensure that people can meet that, that need for, for a voluntary contraception. So that can mean for providing commodities, uh, providing birth control pills, providing, um, long range, um, long acting methods, uh, providing condoms, uh, sometimes that's good, getting it and delivering it to clinics in very rural areas. Uh, it's also creating, uh, people's knowledge of contraceptive methods, knowing that they are safe and effective and that they'll be able to help them plan their families. So it's a, an education piece and advocacy piece and making sure that, uh, commodities and supplies are there. So that's key and core to our work.

Jennie: And then one area that the UNFPA in that whole package plays a really important role is in the commodity side. Um, with being able to do such bulk buying and being able to get things for a lower price for countries and programs.

Sarah: That's right. And that's one of, you know, we, uh, our comparative advantage and we work with a lot of different, uh, donors on ensuring that supplies can get to countries and can get to the people who want, need, uh, need those, uh, commodities. So we call them commodities, but those pills and condoms.

Jennie: So you have the commodity side. And then we talked a little bit about, not that you can't just have the supplies, you have to have the education piece. There's a lot of myths in a lot of places about family planning causes sterility or any number of things that there's a really important part to the education piece to be able to let women make a fully informed decision onto whether or not they want to use family planning without, uh, all that other stuff getting in the way.

Sarah: No. And that's why we're never going to be successful. None of us who are working in this field, if we're not working at all levels of the community and engage community participation, uh. Often we work with peer educators, you know, women who can talk to other women about family planning methods that have worked for them. Ensuring that boys and men are part of the conversation as well. Often, um, some of our best educators or validators are fathers, uh, or husbands who are very concerned about the health and wellbeing of their wives and their daughters and want to ensure that they have good access to services. Uh, working with local faith leaders, working with local politicians, working with members of the community, um, because ultimately when you have good, healthy women and men, and that leads to healthy communities and healthy families. So it's a win, win, win, but we're not gonna succeed if we're not engaging with all community partners in that conversation.

Jennie: Yeah, it's so important to bring in the men and boys and I feel like a lot of times in this reproductive health sphere, it can be an afterthought. And that's such an important part of the conversation. We, you see miscommunication of assuming the husband's against it or things like that. That if you're not focusing on the conversation between men and women and bringing men into the conversation, you're really losing a part of the advocacy. Sarah: Oh yeah. And you know, men love to be part of the conversation. And in some countries we've had what we call schools for husbands where it's just conversations at a community level with men where they can ask questions that they might not want to ask in front of their wives or their sisters or their, their, their mothers. So, you know, giving them an opportunity to be, uh, in a safe space where they can talk about these things and learn and then realize that by supporting the women in their lives, they're supporting themselves and supporting their families. Jennie: So the family planning and making sure that everybody has access to a reliable method of their choice is really important to the next goal, which is ending preventable maternal deaths. Do you wanna talk a little bit about that part?

Sarah: That is a key transformational goal that UNFPA is focusing on. Um, you know, on the positive side, I just want to talk about like the joy of childbirth and the joy of bringing a healthy baby into the world. I'm, I'm a mother of three and I can tell you those were some of the happiest moments of my life when my children came into the world. Um, we, uh, uh, in the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan, uh, we have just celebrated the 8500th birth.

Jennie: Oh Wow. I missed a couple in there.

Sarah: Yes, they keep coming. Uh, but without a single maternal or child death, which is a fantastic statistic because, uh, in a vulnerable situation, like a humanitarian context or in a rural area, women can often die from preventable causes of maternal mortality. And that's because they don't have a skilled birth attendant there to help deliver a child. Or they could have an obstructed labor and not have someone who can recognize that and get them necessary C-section or they haven't had access to family planning, which enables them to plan and space their births. So these are all things that, you know, I always say we don't need a cure. Uh, we don't need a new vaccine or some silver bullet. We know what to do. It's really political will. One of my favorite stories is about a midwife in Haiti after Hurricane Matthew, she kept delivering babies even though there was no power and the water was coming up, up to her knees. So she delivered six healthy babies, four boys and two girls in the most dire of circumstances. And she was a midwife that was trained by UNFPA to do that work. And in Haiti, which has got the highest rate of maternal mortality in the western hemisphere. Uh, they have, you know, they have very few providers of um, who can be, who can be there when a woman is giving birth. So for example, one statistic I saw was there's only one doctor, I think for every 8,000 patients. Um, and one midwife may be for every 50,000 patients. So it's very slow, a very small number. And, uh, what we're doing there is trying to work to train new midwives to increase the number of midwives and train birth attendants so that a woman giving birth in a rural area, where most Haitians live, will have a fighting chance to deliver a good healthy outcome.

Jennie: There's a good story around maternal health. I mean there has been a precipitous drop in the maternal mortality rate. There's still a long way to go, which is the other really important part. But we have seen progress by a investing, making a concerted effort to invest in programs and preventable maternal and child death. And uh, I think it's important to celebrate the progress made, uh, but really need to keep raising the flag that there is still a long way to go.

Sarah: Absolutely. And you know, it unfortunately, uh, the maternal death rate or maternal mortality I should say was one of those public health, global health statistics that just wasn't moving and there has been a big concentrated effort. UNFPA has worked with a lot of other partners to really focus attention on that. Again, I think it's always political will. We find, you know, that uh, women are sometimes the least the needs of pregnant women are not always prioritized at country level budgets. And so ensuring that governments see that investing in women is going to ensure the good health for their women and their, their children's. But that it also has a good impact for the greater society.

Jennie: Yeah, exactly. You know, as you said earlier, healthy women, healthy communities, healthy country, um, and so it's in their best interest. Uh, so the next part and last part of the goal is ending gender based violence and harmful traditional practices. I know UNFP is doing a lot of work in these areas. Do you maybe want to touch on some of the different things that UNFPA is doing in these realms?

Sarah: Yes. I mean this is some of the work that is the most challenging and um, some of the most compelling. You know, one in three women experienced some form of physical or sexual violence in their lifetime, and approximately one in four girls get married before the age of 18. So, and sometimes those two specific statistics come together at the same time. So UNFPAs work to address these issues is some of its most critical because these are girls who haven't, uh, uh, this is just something that's critical work that UNFPAPA is doing. Um, we work with policy makers to try to raise attention to that. Uh, we work with judicial systems to try to give women access to, uh, uh, bringing their, uh, perpetrators to justice. Uh, we work with health systems and we work with other humanitarian partners. Uh, coming up, except I don't know when this is going to air, uh,

Jennie: Tuesday.

Sarah: Oh well coming up on Wednesday, Valentine's Day, we're doing a big focus on child marriage and, uh, the issue of, uh, girls getting married before, uh, they are physically or emotionally ready to do so. And what that, um, impact leads to the health and wellbeing of adolescent girls. So Valentine's Day shouldn't be about young girls getting married. So when your viewers listen to this, if they go on our website, they can learn more about, UNFPAs efforts to try to, uh, end the practice of child marriage. And we work in partnership with UNICEF and many others. But with UNICEF, we have the joint program to end child marriage. Uh, we also partner with UNICEF on a program to end female genital mutilation or female cutting, which many of your viewers may not...

Jennie: Well we haven't touched on yet.

Sarah: But I'm also calling them viewers. I've realized that they're listeners, so your listeners might know about. And this is a harmful traditional practice where girls, um, when they reach puberty, um, have, uh, their genitalia cut in a practice that is intended by, uh, cultures to celebrate or recognize, um, them reaching puberty. And UNFPA and UNICEF work to try to find ways to celebrate the idea of girls, uh, reaching maturity, but at the same time taking away the harmful practice of that. So a lot of our work is with community level groups to try to, uh, find alternative rites of passage to celebrate that and to, end this harmful practice. So yesterday was, uh, the date and all, uh, zero tolerance for FGM. As I say, next week we're going to be focusing on focusing on child marriage. And both of these are issues that really impact adolescent girls. So adolescent girls who are around the world, um, we want to have, be able to reach their full potential and stay in school, and get married when they decide they're ready to get married.

Jennie: Yes. And we'll make sure to include information on all of the UNFPAs programs in our show notes, but for particularly linking to, uh, the information they have around, um, the zero tolerance for FGM day and for the child marriage, uh, on Valentine's Day in our show notes so that everybody can get easy access to 'em and get all the information right there.

Sarah: Awesome. Awesome. Great. Uh, and then again, the work on gender based violence. And we work, uh, we um, do a lot of that work in many of our programs around the world, but a big focus of that is in humanitarian settings. When women are fleeing a humanitarian situation, whether it's a natural disaster or a human disaster in terms of conflict or war, they become very vulnerable to sexual violence and gender based violence. So UNFPAs work is to try to address that. Uh, we have, create safe spaces in refugee camp settings where women can be protected. Uh, we provide them with what we call dignity kits, uh, which can have things that seem very simple but can be transformational, something, uh, like a flashlight or a light so that they are able to go to the latrines at night and have light to get them a safe space. Or in some cases, we provide them with a small commode where they can use it in their own tent so they don't have to leave it at night. Uh, we provide them with sanitary napkins, which people don't realize is something that when you're fleeing, you're not going to have access to sanitary supplies or to be able to find them wherever you have landed. Soap, a comb, a scarf for their head, whatever it, clean underwear, whatever it takes for a woman to feel that she can have her dignity restored after she's had everything in her life destroyed. And ensuring that women who have been subjected to a gender based violence or sexual violence with that, they have access to counseling and to services. And that's UNFPAs role. And we do that in partnership with other NGO partners and with governments to try to, to help women who are at the most vulnerable point in their lives.

Jennie: I think that's a great transition cause that's the next thing I want to talk about is a unfortunately a growing portfolio I feel like at UNFPA, and that's the work in humanitarian settings. Um, and I think a lot of people, it's not something you think about. Uh, when you think of a humanitarian crisis, the most, the number one thing people think about is food, shelter and water. You don't think about reproductive health or any of the various things that UNFPA is working on. And that's not right because there's so many things that reproductive health needs need to be addressed right away. You know, women don't stop being pregnant or having sex, uh, because of what's going on. So, um, let's talk a little bit about some of the other humanitarian work is doing. So GBV was definitely one really important thread, but there are others.

Sarah: Well sure. I mean, you're exactly right. Women don't stop being pregnant. Do, do anything. I mean, some of the stories you hear sometimes I, after, um, there was flooding, a woman was giving birth in a tree because that was the highest space she can find. Or after the earthquake in Haiti, women were giving birth in the middle of the street. You know, one intervention we have, which is again, so simple and so cheap is a safe delivery kit. And if your listeners, I'm not going to call them viewers anymore, if your listeners can imagine it, it's a plastic sheet, it's a string, it's a bar of soap and it's a razor blade. And that provides the sterile surface and the ability for someone to deliver a baby where there's no other health care services around and to provide that sterile surface so that they can deliver safely. That costs like a couple dollars to put together, but that smaller kit can mean everything. Uh, we, uh, in, um, other settings we might have, um, a mobile health clinic. We call them, uh, they're called Hospitainers. It's a big, um, if you could imagine like a shipping container that has been outfitted, that can be an entire maternity center or maternity clinic that can be provided. There's an area right between Jordan and Turkey and Syria. It's called the Berm. Uh, we viewed it as a, some people call it no man's land. I would call it no person's land or no women's land where there was a extremely high rate of maternal mortality. And we were able to deliver the first, um, maternity center/ maternity clinic into that area where we were literally airlifting that supplies in there so that women could now have access to both, um, somebody, uh, trained birthing attendent or midwife to help deliver that baby and also the health care supplies that they need. As I say, we do, um, provide dignity kits that depend on the circumstance, what might be in them, culturally. Uh, we provide obstetric care. Uh, we provide, uh, clinical management of rape services for women who have been subjected to gender based violence. Uh, and, uh, we provide family planning. So we do our bread and butter wherever it is, whether it's in a, a camp or a mobile clinic, or a tent, or a brick and mortar clinic in a, in a more stable country.

Jennie: Yeah. So I mean, just think of all of the crises you've heard of, whether it's Syria or the Rohingya crisis and UNFPA is they're providing services to the women in need.

Sarah: Well, and even the Rohingya is a good one to bring up because we also, by having the presence we have in other countries, we're already on the ground. So in Bangladesh, where a lot of the Rohingya have been migrating to, our country office in Bangladesh was able to quickly and immediately respond to those services. So we're working in Cox Bizarre, in partnership with wide range of UN agencies to meet the needs of the pregnant Rohingya women, um, many who have traveled and have arrived, um, ready to deliver. So ensuring that there's a safe delivery and we've also ensured that many of those women have access to family planning sometimes for the first time.

Jennie: And also they had a ready supply of trained midwives that were able to help, which was really important. So I know one of the things that's been really important for all this humanitarian work you do is, the US was a big funder of UNFPA's humanitarian work under the Obama Administration. I mean they funded UNFPA in general, but added a lot extra to support all of the humanitarian needs. Now we are no longer under the Obama administration. It is the Trump administration.

Sarah: I can't... it's not alaughing matter. So I'm, I'm, I'm laughing like a nervous laugh cause it has been, a 2017 was a very difficult year for UNFPA on many fronts. And one was the loss of the US financial support and also the US political support. Uh, you're exactly right. The US was the largest donor in our humanitarian space. Um, I don't know for your listeners if they know how UNFPA is funded, but it's through voluntary contributions from member states in the UN. And that means it goes through various political processes in whatever country in terms of how that funding is decided. And in the case of the United States, our funding comes through a congressional appropriations process. And there was language in that appropriations process that this administration decided to, uh, interpret to end the US contribution. So what that means in practice is the US, when I was talking earlier about those 8,500 babies born in the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan that was supported 100% by the United States. And so we've had to scramble this year because we did not want to end those important life saving services. So we had to find other donors who were willing to come in and support that work. And unfortunately, you know, all the hot spots of the world are the areas where the US was supporting. They were supporting our work in Yemen. They were supporting our work in the Democratic Republic of Congo. They were supporting our work, addressing girls who were fleeing from Boko Haram in Nigeria. So these are difficult spots where we are really, you know, well-placed as a, you know, you know, an international organization to be able to address these, uh, needs of women in ways that other organizations might not be able to with the support of the US. And unfortunately as of now, that funding support and that political partnership is, um, non-existent.

Jennie: Yeah, it's been a real loss. Um, you know, I know UNFPA will be able to make up some of the funding, but I'm sure it, it's a real challenge to try and make up for all of it. And there was already not enough to meet all of the needs, so it's not even just making up the US shortfall. It's meeting the full range of needs that, uh, with all of the crises that UNFPA has been having to deal with.

Sarah: Absolutely. I mean, it is that gap. Um, but I think for me, like I really look at as the loss of the political support in the partnership. UNFPA works in 155 countries around the world, and in many of those countries we're working in partnership with USAID because USAID is the largest bilateral supporter of family planning. So it's crucial for us to be able to work synergistically and make sure that we have, um, coordination in our efforts. So when there is this confusion in terms of not just the loss of funding but also the political dynamic, that synergy and that partnership becomes fractured. Uh, so that's, to me the part that's really frustrating. As a, I'm an American working for the United Nations and you know, makes me personally sad, uh, that we have lost that support. Cause I think it's not based on a real fact pattern of, uh, I, I often joke, I say, you know, UNFPA, we're the agency that's been dealing with fake news for a long time because the reasons behind that loss of support really are not based in reality

Jennie: And they don't go away. Like, no matter how many times it gets pointed out as not true or fake news or however you want to state it, it just keeps coming back as soon as there's a Republican administration or even when you had, you know, switched to Republican control of the house, you would see it come up in appropriations every year. And no matter what it just, it's the rumor that won't die.

Sarah: Well, I mean, I want to be clear, you know, we've had strong support from Republican, um, policy makers and you know, as I say, when I started up President Nixon helped create UNFPA and I've been doing this work for a long time and we had strong support, bipartisan support, uh. I think some of the, uh, the stories that are told make us seem a lot more interesting than we actually are, and I'm being, I'm making a joke a little bit out of it. But just because, you know, our work is really, is really about ensuring that women, uh, and their families have good, healthy birth outcomes and I think that's not a political issue in the sense that everyone supports that and everyone can get behind that. And so I think the real challenge, and I appreciate having the chance to talk to you today Jennie, cause I really think the challenge is how do we tell the real story about what, what this work is and it's supported globally and it's really welcome and wanted by the women who use our services. Uh, I just get in, in getting ready to talk to you today, I was just like going through all the stories of wonderful babies being born in some of the most challenging of circumstances. And I'm, I'm always, I'm always struck by the names that people give, you know, their children often. Cause I remember my, my own children when I thought about what to name them and you know, blessing or gift or precious. I mean these are the names people are so thrilled to have the opportunity to bring their child healthily into the world and to raise them. So that's a pretty exciting mandate to get behind.

Jennie: Yeah, exactly. And you know, I would think, you know, healthy birth outcomes, choosing to have kids when you want. These are all, ending gender based violence, I think child marriage, uh, ending FGM, there's no controversy in these things. Everybody says they support these things. So it would be really great to be able to see people come together and support UNFPA and all the great work they do on all of these things.

Sarah: Well, and I think, you know, I think, and maybe I should've said this earlier, I mean some of the issue is what we're talking about is the most intimate decision that any person makes is with whom to have an intimate relationship with and whom to have a sexual relationship with. And so in any culture of the world, that's going to be an issue that's filled with politics and it's filled with religion and faith and, and that we fully acknowledge and recognize, celebrate that. Like we want to have all those members to be part of the conversation. So we're, you know, as I say, we're working to ensure that every pregnancy is wanted and every childbirth is safe. And also for those women who don't want to have a baby or who want to wait until they're ready for whatever reason to, to give birth. That's part of this too. Helping people plan their families. And most people are very, uh, excited to work with UNFPA on that. And so hopefully it's just a temporary moment with the United States. And I, you know, I know, I think I thank you Jennie and many of the NGO partners that you work with who keep coming out and telling that story about these, about our work.

Jennie: So now that people are aware of what UNFPA does, I always want to end my show with an action step. What can people do to support UNFPA? What, what can people do?

Sarah: Well, there's, well, one is like, you know, go to our website and read about our work and share it with others. We have some fantastic social media, um, voices that come through on Twitter. I've become a recent Twitter convert. So if you follow UNFPA's Twitter feed, you'll learn some extraordinary stories about what's happening. And one of the most difficult, protracted crisises of our lifetime. But there's always some hope that I see. So read about our work, share it, tweet it out, retweet it for those Americans out there. Learn about our work, talk to policy makers, talk to people in your community about why it's important to support a, this kind of investment by the u s investing not just in the UNFPA, but investing in the needs of women and girls globally. So those are two action items.

Jennie: And since I can wear a little more lobbying hat, uh, reach out to your Congress people and tell them to support funding for UNFPA. Um, and that you support their work. It's important that they hear our voices. It's a small minority of the population gets very loud on some of these issues, but they are a small minority and it doesn't take very many of us to call in and say, Hey, I support what UNFPA is doing. Please, when it's budget time, please support funding for the United Nations Population Fund.

Sarah: Well, I couldn't have said that any better myself Jennie.

Jennie: Well, thank you so much, Sarah. It was so great to talk to you about you, UNFPA's work and your work and I look forward to having you on the show again. Sarah: Oh my gosh. Well, I'd be happy to come back and uh, thanks so much to you and Population Institute for supporting this great work.

Jennie: For more information, including show notes from this episode and previous episodes, please visit our website reprosfightback.com. You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter at rePROs Fight Back. If you like our show, please help others find it by sharing it with your friends and subscribing, rating and reviewing us on iTunes. Thanks for listening.

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