Health Policy Watch: U.S. Faces Off Against 43 Countries On Sexual & Reproductive Health & Rights
“The United States faced off against 43 other countries at the 72nd World Health Assembly [last] week regarding a proposal to include language protecting sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) in the draft political declaration on universal health coverage (UHC), due to be issued at a U.N. high-level meeting in September. … In a lively debate on Wednesday, the U.S. representative to the WHA argued that such rights should be interpreted within national cultural and legal contexts, and stated that the U.S. does not agree with including language referring to the right to sexual and reproductive health in the draft political declaration. At the same time, a bloc of 43 countries, represented by Sweden and backed by civil society groups, strongly advocated for the inclusion of SRHR as ‘indispensable and integral’ to universal health coverage…” (Branigan, 5/24).