Thursday, February 25, 2021
  • About Us
  • ImagiNATION
  • Adverts
  • Rate Card
  • Contact Us
The Nation Online
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Life & Style
    • Every Woman
      • Soul
      • Family
    • Religion
    • Feature
  • Society
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Chichewa
  • Enation
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Life & Style
    • Every Woman
      • Soul
      • Family
    • Religion
    • Feature
  • Society
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Chichewa
  • Enation
No Result
View All Result
No Result
View All Result
Home News National News

New US policy to affect health care delivery

by Edyth Kambalame
21/06/2018
in National News
2 min read
0
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on WhatsAppShare on LinkedinLinkedinShare via Email

 

A new United States government policy to cut funding to organisations that support comprehensive reproductive health care in aid recipient countries threatens to impact negatively on health service delivery in poor nations, including Malawi.

RelatedHeadlines

Committees urged to supervise projects

Man gets 21 years for defilement

Communities hail resilience project

This was revealed yesterday during a media roundtable in Nairobi, Kenya where experts from Population Action International (PAI) presented findings of their fact-finding trips to Ethiopia, Nigeria and Uganda on the early impact of the policy.

rucks | The Nation Online
Rucks: It disrupts trusted and qualified providers

Known as the Global Gag Rule (GGR), the policy forces foreign non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to choose between receiving US global health assistance and providing comprehensive sexual and reproductive health care.

In her remarks, PAI president Suzanne Ehlers said the restrictions deprive women of their right to information and care, including contraceptives, cancer screening, routine health examinations and safe abortion services.

She said: “For Malawi, just as in other countries, the expanded policy under the Donald Trump administration will dismantle health systems, rise up unintended pregnancies thereby forcing women to seek unsafe abortions, and it will hurt the overall health communities.”

Ehlers said in the countries where PAI has documented preliminary impacts of GGR, health providers have been forced to trim staff, sever ties with key partners and close programmes, thereby limiting communities’ access to health care.

She said: “The evidence is clear—whenever and wherever this policy has been imposed, women’s lives have been endangered.”

In an interview, PAI senior director of advocacy Jonathan Rucks said the policy disrupts health systems.

“It disrupts trusted and qualified service providers by cutting them out of the system and when that happens, the individuals who rely on those service providers for their care or services lose access to those services. That is impacting the ability to provide the services in communities around the world,” he said.

Specifically, the GGR prohibits recipients of US family planning funding from providing abortion care, educating patients about abortion options, or making referrals to abortion providers.

In Malawi, abortion is restricted to only when a pregnancy puts the mother’s life at risk, leading to women often seeking clandestine ways of getting rid of unwanted pregnancies. Government is reported to spend millions of kwacha in post-abortion care for unsafe abortions.

Currently, there is a draft Termination of Pregnancy Bill that is yet to be tabled in Parliament. The bill proposes broader conditions under which abortion may be permissible, such as in the event of rape or incest.

The GGR is a trademark policy for Republican administrations, having been first announced in 1984 by former US president Ronald Reagan. President Donald Trump reinstated it on January 23 2017, soon after taking office.

The US government, through the United States Agency for International Development, is the largest donor for reproductive health services globally.

Previous Post

Agriculture key avenue for raising incomes—Minister

Next Post

Mixed fortunes in K128m BWB fraud case

Related Posts

techers | The Nation Online
National News

Committees urged to supervise projects

February 24, 2021
An illustration of court proceedings
National News

Man gets 21 years for defilement

February 24, 2021
farming | The Nation Online
National News

Communities hail resilience project

February 24, 2021
Next Post
Brian Makote suspected to have defrauded the board money amounting to K128 million

Mixed fortunes in K128m BWB fraud case

Opinions and Columns

My Thought

Malawi needs fixing, not politicking

February 21, 2021
Political Uncensored

No longer at ease..

February 21, 2021
Emily Mkamanga

Discipline paramount in government

February 21, 2021
People’s Tribunal

Let OPC be standard for everyone to follow

February 21, 2021

Trending Stories

  • Co-chaired the task force: Phuka (L) and Mwanamvekha

    K780M Dodma Covid-19 feast

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Bushiri’s daughters blocked from flying out

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Censorship Board acts on ‘Aunt Nellie’ videos

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Convention In July 2023—DPP

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Mathanga, kunje Sue president, MEC

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Values
  • Our Philosophy
  • Editorial policy
  • Advertising Policy
  • Code of Conduct
  • Plagiarism disclaimer
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use

© 2021 Nation Publications Limited. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Life & Style
    • Every Woman
      • Soul
      • Family
    • Religion
    • Feature
  • Society
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Chichewa
  • Enation

© 2020 Nation Publications Limited. All Rights Reserved.

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.