Which donors prioritize sexual and reproductive health and rights?

Glasgow, SCOTLAND — Funding for sexual and reproductive health and rights, or SRHR, reached $7.68 billion in 2018, according to a new analysis of donor spending in this area. The report by Deutsche Stiftung Weltbevölkerung and the European Parliamentary Forum for Sexual & Reproductive Rights shows that it was a mixed year for SRHR funding, with two major donors in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Development Assistance Committee database — the United States and the European Union institutions — both spending significantly less on the issue than the year before. That was offset, however, by sizable increases from some donors, notably the Netherlands and Canada. Based on the report, and with additional insights from Devex’s funding platform, these are the top 10 OECD-DAC funders of SRHR based on the proportion of their official development assistance dedicated to the issue in 2018. 1. United States % of ODA spent on SRHR: 12.47 Since the reintroduction of the “global gag rule” by President Donald Trump’s administration in 2017, NGOs outside the U.S. are no longer eligible for U.S. global health assistance if they are involved in providing abortion-related activities. In addition, the U.S. completely cut its funding to the United Nations Population Fund in 2017 and 2018. Despite this, pushback from Congress meant disbursements for SRHR remained reasonably stable between 2016 and 2018. While the U.S. spent $152 million less on the issue in 2018 compared with the year before — the biggest drop of any donor in cash terms — this represents a relatively small proportion of the more than $4 billion it spends annually on SRHR. Recent projects include a five-year, $15 million program awarded to DAI and its partners by the U.S. Agency for International Development’s mission to Nigeria earlier this year, with the aim of improving the health and well-being of urban, out-of-school, and unmarried teenagers in Lagos and Kano states through increasing voluntary uptake of family planning. 2. Canada % of ODA spent on SRHR: 6.42 Canada, which adopted its Feminist International Assistance Policy in 2017, includes SRHR as a focus of its global health policy. The donor renewed its commitments in the area of SRHR at the Women Deliver 2019 Conference in Vancouver, British Columbia, and later the same year at the Nairobi Summit, where it pledged to increase support for women’s, adolescents’, and children’s health to an average of $1.4 billion annually by 2023, with an annual average of $700 million specifically for SRHR. In 2020, Global Affairs Canada launched a call for proposals around innovative and transformative approaches to improve access to reproductive health. Approximately 20 seed grants of up to 250,000 Canadian dollars ($190,000) over 18-24 months were available for organizations to develop and test proposed ideas as part of the Options for Pregnancy Termination Innovation Initiative. GAC also committed CA$800,000 for a project in the Philippines that seeks to lessen the impact of COVID-19 on low-income and marginalized women and girls in Manila and the surrounding areas, specifically by improving the delivery of SRHR services to these groups. The program started in November and is being implemented by Inter Pares. 3. The Netherlands % of ODA spent on SRHR: 5.45 In 2017, the Netherlands confirmed its commitment to SRHR with the launch of the She Decides initiative, which it contributed €29 million toward, followed by the adoption of its Investing in Global Prospects policy in 2018. Between 2017 and 2018, its spending for SRHR increased by $48.21 million, the biggest increase of any OECD-DAC donor. More recently, the minister for foreign trade and development cooperation committed to keeping SRHR on the agenda during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced €300 million in funding for SRHR to be channeled, over the course of five years, through the SRHR Partnership Fund. The program will benefit 31 countries and aims, among other things, to help young people make healthier choices and to provide access to contraceptives and other essential sexual and reproductive health materials. Earlier this year, the Foreign Affairs Ministry also awarded €10,000 to Disability Repro-Light, an organization based in Tanzania, with the aim of improving the sexual and reproductive health statuses of people with disabilities there. 4. Luxembourg % of ODA spent on SRHR: 4.68 Maternal and child health, including SRHR, is among the donor’s top global health priorities. However, SRHR and family planning disbursements as a percentage of total ODA have slightly decreased between 2016 and 2018. 5. United Kingdom % of ODA spent on SRHR: 4.11 The United Kingdom's spending for SRHR increased by $13.47 million from 2017 to 2018, despite accounting for a smaller percentage of its ODA. That same year, it was the leading European donor for SRHR disbursements in terms of volume and the leading European donor for family planning, both in terms of total disbursements and as a share of ODA. Its commitment to SRHR is reflected in its Strategic Vision for Gender Equality. In 2018, the country’s Foreign & Commonwealth Office — now the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office — provided £10 million in bridge funding for a project being implemented by UNFPA that seeks to increase access to quality and affordable family planning commodities across Africa. More recently, it provided £8 million for programs in Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Djibouti that FCDO will implement, with the aim of enhancing SRHR for the most vulnerable refugees. 6. Sweden % of ODA spent on SRHR: 3.97 In 2014, Sweden was the first country in the world to launch and implement a feminist foreign policy, with SRHR as one of its six objectives. Despite this, Sweden’s disbursements for reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health — or RMNCH — and SRHR have slightly decreased year on year since 2016. In 2018, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency invested 400 million Swedish krona to improve SRHR for people in Lesotho, Malawi, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The four-year project is a collaboration between SIDA and four United Nations agencies: UNFPA, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, UNICEF, and the World Health Organization. 7. Ireland % of ODA spent on SRHR: 3.80 As Ireland’s overall ODA has increased year on year from 2016 to 2018, spending for both SRHR and family planning as a percentage of that has remained stable. Its 2019 international development policy outlines a proactive, rights-based approach to SRHR, including committing to the incorporation of SRHR in humanitarian programming and a commitment to universal health coverage. 8. Denmark % of ODA spent on SRHR: 3.74 Denmark is one of the co-founders of AmplifyChange — a fund that supports civil society organizations advocating for improved SRHR — and continues to support this initiative. It also co-launched the She Decides initiative in 2017 and co-hosted the Nairobi Summit, along with UNFPA and Kenya, in 2019. Between 2016 and 2017, Denmark’s disbursements to SRHR, family planning, and RMNCH increased substantially, followed by a more moderate increase between 2017 and 2018. Earlier this year, the Danish International Development Agency launched a grant of 50 million Danish krone to promote SRHR and tackle gender-based violence in Kenya over a five-year period, starting in January 2021. Among other things, the grant application calls for the program to address unmet needs for family planning, including modern contraceptive methods and access to services for women, men, and adolescent girls and boys. 9. Norway % of ODA spent on SRHR: 3.71 Following the reinstatement of the global gag rule, Norway increased its support for SRHR, rising by $16.75 million between 2017 and 2018. At the Nairobi Summit in 2019, it committed 9.6 billion Norwegian krone to SRHR for the 2020-2025 period and 760 million Norwegian krone to end harmful practices over a three-year period starting in 2020. The Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation awarded 128 million Norwegian krone to the NGO Ipas for a global project, which started in 2019, to strengthen SRHR by increasing access to safe abortion and contraception. 10. Australia % of ODA spent on SRHR: 2.79 Australia’s investment in SRHR has been steadily declining since 2016, both in absolute terms and as a share of ODA. Funding for RMNCH picked up slightly in 2018, following cuts in the previous years, while commitments for family planning were relatively stable over this period. In May 2020, the country launched its latest development policy focused on COVID-19 response and recovery efforts, which includes SRHR and family planning as a key element. In 2019, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade awarded 735,000 Australian dollars to Marie Stopes International Australia — now part of MSI Reproductive Choices — to increase access to SRHR and family planning services in Senegal. More recently, the Australian agency awarded AU$16,600 to Abt Associates Inc. for the provision of technical support services to Pakistan’s reproductive health program. Along with the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, it also funded a consultancy opportunity for the evaluation of the Pacific Partnership to End Violence Against Women and Girls. For access to in-depth analysis, insights, and funding opportunities from over 850+ sources — combined with Devex Pro news content — sign up to a Pro Funding subscription online today or get in touch to learn about our Pro Funding group options.