The UN agency tasked with promoting reproductive rights has vowed to continue their work even if potential US President Donald Trump restricts their funding again.
Speaking to Q+A with Jack Tame, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) head Dr Natalia Kanem said that while UN agencies acted at the direction of member states, her agency would not be deterred from their science-based work.
"UNFPA will never back away from the proposition that women are really smart, they have rights, and they should be allowed to express those rights in every way they see fit," said Kanem.
A physician from Panama and graduate of both Harvard and Columbia University, Dr Kanem has been head of the UNFPA since 2017.
In that year, the US government cut funding of approximately $70 million per year to the UNFPA over allegations the organisation "supports, or participates in the management of, a program of coercive abortion or involuntary sterilization."
The UNFPA strongly denied the allegations, saying they were "erroneous".
It was part of a pattern of funding cuts experienced by the UNFPA, with the last four Republican party presidents of the USA withholding money, and Democratic party presidents then reinstating the funding.
That is based on a Republican policy of denying federal funding for any non-governmental organisation that promotes or performs abortions, first implemented by President Reagan in 1985.
Kanem noted that Republican administrations restricted funding "because of our insistence that really as part of human rights, your sexual wellbeing, your ability to choose is fundamental".
"We have every evidence in the world to prove that point, but again it's an issue of dialogue."
Kanem said in her personal view, it was "lamentable" that the USA has periodically withdrawn funding that helps the agency in their work to preserve life.
"Maternal mortality is such a big issue in the world, and part of the reason for this is that sexual and reproductive health and rights are not universal," said Kanem.
Dr Natalia Kanem, the head of the UN Population Fund, talks about rights for women and girls in the developing world, the challenges facing public health, and what her organisation will do if Donald Trump wins again (Source: 1News)
She said the advantages mothers and babies in New Zealand have are not enjoyed by all, and that funding of the UNFPA is necessary to improve outcomes for those in the developing world.
"I'm so sorry to tell you that's not the case for the majority of countries in Africa, for example, where a lot of maternal death occurs. In Afganistan. In Myanmar. These are huge challenges."
"So always as a doctor myself, I'm quick to point out that we can't wish the world to be a certain way – we have to proceed on scientific evidence."
Former President Trump is currently in a strong position to return to the presidency, holding a slight lead over President Joe Biden in the majority of polls featured in 538's polling roundup.
Both candidates recently clinched their respective party's primary contests, winning enough delegates to be the presumptive presidential nominee.
Q+A with Jack Tame is made with the support of New Zealand on Air
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