Devex: A Trump-induced competition for women’s health funding in Colombia
“…Complying with U.S. President Donald Trump’s reinstated ‘global gag rule’ in January, then, was never an option for Profamilia, Colombia’s biggest nongovernmental family planning services and safe abortion provider. … For Profamilia, which serves 600,000 people a year, this translates to a loss of $1.2 million in U.S. Agency for International Development funding for community strengthening and reproductive health programs for vulnerable populations in 11 municipalities. … After mourning the passage of the expanded [Mexico City] policy — which impacts about 15 times more U.S. funding than past iterations, including Profamilia’s $300,000 Zika education project that won’t get off the ground — the Profamilia fundraising team jumped into action. They began searching for support to compensate [for] what will be lost when programs are forced to close at the end of the year, a full 12 months earlier than planned. They haven’t gotten very far, [the organization’s president Marta Royo] said…” (Rogers, 6/21).