Devex Newswire: PEPFAR in the anti-abortion crosshairs

PEPFAR has hit a bump as it seeks to renew its legal authorization. It also faces potential budget cuts if conservative groups get their way. Also in today’s edition: SOS Children's Villages is forced to face up to its sins, and we look at cybersecurity in development. Weaponizing PEPFAR We talk about burning down the house to get rid of bed bugs, but what if the bed bugs aren't even there? Conservative and anti-abortion activists seem to be doing just that in trying to sell the idea that the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief is a funding source for abortion — when it’s not. In doing so, they’re putting a health program at risk. The conservative campaign has raised concerns that the U.S. global AIDS initiative could face serious problems to renew its legal authorization. And without that, PEPFAR — which has saved 25 million lives in its two decades — risks budget cuts, deprioritization, and diminished status, Michael Igoe and Adva Saldinger write. PEPFAR supporters claim the attack is not about abortion at all, but simply a political battering ram against President Joe Biden’s progressive policies at home and abroad. And it comes as reproductive rights — particularly abortion — are especially divisive. But PEPFAR is banned from funding abortions. “PEPFAR seems to be caught in the crosshairs,” a global health executive tells Devex. Reauthorization was on track just a few months ago, but on May 1 two documents from conservative groups did the rounds, alleging that PEPFAR has become a vehicle for the Biden administration’s “radical” agenda. In one letter to high-ranking Republican lawmakers overseeing the reauthorization, 31 conservative and anti-abortion groups suggested that PEPFAR funds are “used by nongovernmental organizations that promote abortions and push a radical gender ideology abroad.” Although advocates say there is still a path to reauthorization, the sudden broadside opens the floor to questions about the stability of political support for an initiative that has stood as a rare bipartisan bright spot since its creation by former President George W. Bush in 2003. Read: Abortion politics cast shadow over PEPFAR reauthorization + Devex Pro members can learn about who PEPFAR’s top partners were in 2022, how much funding they received, and where they spent the money. Not a Pro member yet? Start your 15-day free trial. Voice in the crowd The disinformation chorus also appears to be getting stronger. U.S. Representative Chris Smith, previously a PEPFAR champion, has thrown his weight behind critics claiming it’s being used to fund abortion-related programs. “President Biden has hijacked PEPFAR … to promote abortion on demand,” the New Jersey Republican wrote in a letter yesterday to colleagues that was seen by Adva. “Bad actor” NGOs promoting abortion have received $1.34 billion in PEPFAR funds since fiscal year 2021, he said. But several of the organizations Smith names tell Adva that the information about them is incorrect and that they abide by all U.S. and local laws. They reiterated that the funding they receive from the U.S. government does not go to support abortion. PEPFAR advocates had hoped the conservative rabble-rousing would die down, but Smith’s letter presents another blow to passing a simple five-year extension of the lifesaving program. Read: US lawmaker joins anti-abortion chorus of PEPFAR opponents Judgment day Expect plenty of attention on SOS Children’s Villages, as the final report on major safeguarding and other failings at one of the world’s largest NGOs is released. SOS Children’s Villages — a federation that reported €1.46 billion in revenue in 2021 — aims to protect neglected children in more than 130 countries and territories. But in 2021, two reports found evidence of child abuse, corruption, and misuse of funds. That led to an independent special commission, which has just issued its 262-page report. The top-line findings are damning, my colleague Vince Chadwick tells me — implementation of safeguarding policies has been “historically deficient” and serious child sexual and physical abuse has occurred in SOS member associations in Africa, Asia, and Central America. The details are harrowing. Children were coerced into abortions, while whistleblowers were intimidated and fired. The findings go beyond abuse too. The special commission concluded that “the Federation is still Eurocentric” in its leadership and that many boards and committees failed to observe term limits, weakening governance and accountability. SOS says it has taken steps to improve. A March 2023 report noted the introduction of an independent ombudsman system and a new code of conduct and safeguarding policy. Since 2021, more than 60% of SOS Children’s Villages International’s supervisory board has been replaced. But the commission also found that “elements of the ‘cultures’ and ‘norms’ from previous leadership structures and dynamics are persisting in some components of current leadership at multiple levels within the Federation.” Pariah knowledge How to deal with pariah states is a tough one for any democratic world leader. Refuse to engage and the population suffers, keep the door open to evil regimes and their leaders are emboldened (and the population still suffers). So using the traditional model of humanitarian aid as a form of political engagement is not the answer, write Charles Petrie and Scott Guggenheim in an opinion piece for Devex. Southeast Asian nations, for example, are divided over how to deal with Myanmar’s military junta, while much of the West is adamant in its refusal to engage. Meanwhile, Syria’s ostracized leader, Bashar al-Assad, has been welcomed back into the fold of the Arab world. But neither country has softened due to sanctions. In the absence of political action, humanitarian aid is the default response to acute needs, the duo writes. So, a new, complementary model is needed, one that focuses on supporting and empowering local governance structures, especially those in the hardest-to-reach areas. Opinion: A new aid model can better assist communities in pariah states Unsustainable debt New World Bank data warns that the lowest-income nations are spending far too much on servicing unsustainable levels of debt, leaving them cash-strapped and unable to break cycles of poverty. Debt servicing also prevents governments from making climate investments to help prevent worsening natural disasters — often the cause of such debt levels in the first place. The world’s poorest 28 nations, with a combined population of more than 700 million people, spend about 11% of total government expenditures just on interest payments. That’s double what they spent a decade ago. Although this has been brewing for years, the fiscal crunch was made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic, which pushed poverty rates higher, writes my colleague Shabtai Gold. Read: Why low-income nations are ‘cracking’ under debt pressure One big number More than 50% --— That’s the proportion of NGOs that reported being the target of cyberattacks, according to a 2017 survey by ICIT. International development has been hit hard in recent years by high-profile digital attacks on organizations such as USAID and the International Committee of the Red Cross. And as NGOs increasingly turn to technology to improve operations, more cyberthreat vulnerabilities are exposed, writes Devex contributor Katrina J. Lane. That’s because historically, digital infrastructure has been a lower priority for NGOs, leading to underinvestment and shoe-string technology teams. “Most NGOs are driving around in antiquated vehicles with fewer safety features and old systems that no longer benefit from modern security safeguards,” James Eaton-Lee from NetHope tells Katrina. Learn more: How to build career expertise in cybersecurity and data protection (Career) + A Devex Career Account membership includes all the valuable tools you need to be successful in your globaldev job hunt. Start your 15-day free trial today. In other news The destruction of Ukraine’s Nova Kakhovka dam, which led to the evacuation of some 40,000 people, will have “grave and far-reaching consequences” that would become apparent in the coming days, U.N. humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths has warned. [The Guardian] Three people died after a 4.9 magnitude earthquake struck the city of Jérémie in western Haiti, where thousands have recently been displaced by massive flooding across the country. [BBC] Oxfam International issued an apology Tuesday following backlash over a video the charity posted featuring a woman wearing a “TERF” badge. [The Independent] Sign up to Newswire for an inside look at the biggest stories in global development.