.png?sfvrsn=6d0e27cd_1 "Partnership for Change - v7 (1)")
G7 countries have called for a gender-equal global recovery following the pandemic and reaffirmed their continuous efforts to improve women's, children's and adolescents' health (WCAH).
The G7 Leader’s Summit, held 26-28 June at Schloss Elmau in Bavaria, Germany, was also attended by leaders from Argentina, India, Indonesia, Senegal and South Africa. The deliberations built on the positions of the earlier G7 Ministerial statements and set out a vision and a commitment to address the crises of COVID-19 and the impact of the war in Ukraine and elsewhere on women and girls, to meet the sexual, reproductive and health rights (SRHR) needs of women and girls.
G7 Member States reiterated the crucial importance to put gender equality at the core of their multilateral contributions to global health, and reiterated their efforts to address the particular needs of the most marginalized and those in vulnerable situations.
In particular, leaders committed to strengthening primary health care, and to regain lost ground and attain universal health coverage (UHC) per the 2030 Agenda. This is highlighted by their commitment to support a successful Seventh Replenishment of the Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund); and to contribute to the Global Financing Facility for women, children and adolescents (GFF).
“We reaffirm our full commitment to achieve comprehensive SRHR of all individuals, and stress the importance of access to emergency sexual and reproductive health services in humanitarian crises,” said the 28 June G7 outcome statement. “We recognize the essential and transformative role of SRHR in gender equality and women’s and girls’ empowerment, and in supporting diversity, including of sexual orientations and gender identities”.
The G7 communiqué aligns with efforts of PMNCH to bring SRHR into much greater focus, alongside prevention of sexual and gender-based violence in the context of an expanding number of conflicts around the world and sets out an excellent objective for the G7 to deliver over the course of the next years.
The PMNCH Strategy for 2021-2025 identifies improving SRHR as one of the primary goals to ensure progress of WCAH everywhere, supporting the achievement of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). PMNCH is dedicated to upholding essential SRHR interventions and ensuring continuous progress in financing and equitable access to comprehensive packages of care. Public emergencies, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and humanitarian crises, illustrate that the impact on SRHR is often unnoticed, arising as an indirect consequence of strained health systems, disruptions in care, and redirected resources.
The G7’s commitment to rebuild and strengthen health systems to advance SRHR for all and identify new approaches to filling health care gaps is welcomed, and PMNCH partners are encouraged to support Governments to continue making bold commitments to remove obstacles and increase investment to ensure full access to quality SRHR services.
For the remainder of the German G7 Presidency and looking ahead to the 2023 G7, under the presidency of Japan, PMNCH will continue to urge concrete financing and policies to support the health and well-being of women, children and adolescents in the context of strengthening commitments to SRHR, UHC and primary health care.