Devex: How UNFPA rebounded from U.S. funding cuts
“Advocacy and a collection of strong donors have helped remedy the ‘big blow’ that U.S. funding cuts dealt the U.N. Population Fund two years ago, said Arthur Erken, director at UNFPA’s division of communications and strategic partnerships. A broader recognition of the need to finance sexual and reproductive health and rights, especially in humanitarian settings, has allowed UNFPA to rebound to funding levels it saw prior to U.S. cuts, Erken said. … UNFPA took a financial hit … when it lost the United States as a top donor and policy supporter, shortly after President Trump entered office in January 2017. … UNFPA is still nearly $200 million short of its requested $536 million in humanitarian funding to reach 35 million women, girls, and young people with sexual and reproductive health care in 2019, according to Erken. But it is again operating with $350 million in annual core funding for 2019 — nearly the same amount the agency had before the U.S. cuts…” (Lieberman, 7/3).