PMNCH Statement on U.S. Administration’s national strategy on gender equity and equality

PMNCH applauds the recent announcement of the U.S. Administration’s first-ever national strategy to advance gender equity and equality in the U.S. and globally. The strategy identifies health as one of ten interconnected policy priorities. PMNCH, an alliance of more than 1200 organizations, is dedicated to the health of women, children and adolescents and advancing gender equality. 

The Biden-Harris Administration’s gender strategy addresses sexual and reproductive health and rights, maternal health, and adolescent health and well-being in the U.S. and globally. These are priority areas for PMNCH as outlined in PMNCH’s 2021-2025 Strategy to close gender gaps and move us toward a world with equal and equitable opportunity for all people.

This announcement comes at a time of widespread losses in access to sexual and reproductive health information and services, peaks in maternal mortality and increasing concerns over gender-based violence due to disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Even before the pandemic, women and adolescents, particularly those most vulnerable and marginalized, faced barriers to accessing care, including access to safe abortion, family planning and sexual and reproductive health information and services.

The Biden-Harris Administration took a vital step in January 2021 by rescinding the so-called global gag rule, also known as the Mexico City Policy. The global gag rule prohibits foreign organizations receiving U.S. family planning funding from providing abortion-related services, information, counseling or referrals, or advocating for the expansion of abortion access, using any source of their funding.  The new gender strategy seeks to permanently repeal the global gag rule, enabling organizations to use their own funds to provide safe abortion care, in accordance with local laws, while receiving U.S. foreign assistance.

The Gender Strategy also aims to promote access to sexual and reproductive health and rights globally by:

• Committing to investing in high-quality sexual and reproductive health services;
• Continuing to support UNFPA;
• Ensuring better integration of sexual and reproductive health service provision in humanitarian and post-conflict settings;
• Restoring U.S. global leadership on sexual and reproductive rights and comprehensive sexuality education in bilateral and multilateral fora and in efforts to advance universal health care coverage.

Recognizing that the protection and expansion of access to health care includes urgently addressing maternal health, the Gender Strategy explicitly states it will continue investments

to advance the Sustainable Development Goals and the Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s, and Adolescents’ Health. The Gender Strategy is aligned with PMNCH’s 2021-2025 strategy to drive down preventable morbidity and mortality, including stillbirths, uphold essential sexual and reproductive health and rights interventions in universal health coverage and COVID-19 response and recovery plans, and advance the health and well-being of adolescents.  

The Biden-Harris Administration will also address the global rise in gender-based violence during the COVID-19 pandemic. These efforts, including preventing and responding to gender-based violence in humanitarian contexts support PMNCH’s work to prevent violence against women, children and adolescents through education and protection.

The U.S. gender strategy reminds us that gender equity and equality must be front and center in health care. Protecting the health and rights of women, children and adolescents must be part of a comprehensive approach to improving the lives of people everywhere.