From Funding to Financing SRHR

08:30 - 09:30 am EST
(TBC)
Permanent Mission of Sweden to the United Nations (TBC)

About

Background: The quantity and quality of financing for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights are critical for the achievement of Health and Wellbeing for All, Gender Equality, and the broader realization of the Sustainable Development Goals.

As countries around the world face extreme financial pressures and ODA is likely to decrease, economic recovery will take center stage, putting increased pressure on decision-making and resource allocation. Continued investment in SRHR needs to be systematically prioritized across available channels, combined with innovative use of approaches to amplify the impact.

Despite evidence of the catalytic power of investments in SRHR to propel economic growth and accelerate realization of the Sustainable Development Goals, commensurate investments in SRHR are lagging behind. For example, while family planning, along with vaccines and prevention of non-communicable diseases, is often cited as one of the most valuable public health investments, integration of SRHR by governments or other international development partners into development policies or financing frameworks needs to be scaled up. In addition, recent research reveals the enormous scale of the impact COVID-19 and prolonged humanitarian crisis are having on women as health systems become overloaded, facilities close or only provide a limited set of services to women and girls. Global supply chain disruptions may also lead to significant shortages of contraceptives.

Beyond health, investment in SRHR effectively promotes gender equality and retention of long-term development targets. The cross-sectoral dialogue presents both a challenge and an opportunity for SRHR champions to engage and contribute different perspectives, and pathways to investing in SRHR.

Purpose: This breakfast discussion, organized by the Government of Sweden, the United Nations Joint SDG Fund and the United Nations Sexual and Reproductive Health Agency (UNFPA),   brings together speakers from Member States and the UN System to galvanize broad-based political action and resources towards SRHR for all. The participants will discuss action and resources for SRHR as a smart and sustainable development solution, as well as key to advancing women’s health and rights, educational opportunities, career and earning potential, and broader multifaceted societal benefits. With a focus on evidence, policy, and financing approaches, it highlights what is needed to increase the visibility of SRHR among development priorities and to translate the SRHR socio-economic case into commensurate financial flows.

The guiding questions for this dialogue include: What are best practices in scaling up focus and investments in SRHR? What is the role of development partner champions in mobilizing support for SRHR? What are the key policy and resource allocation decisions your government has taken on SRHR?

Format: Breakfast discussion hosted and moderated by the Permanent Representative of Sweden to the United Nations, Ms. Anna-Karin Eneström (TBC)

Programme

08:00 am

08:00 am - 08:30 am

Arrival and breakfast

08:30 am - 08:40 am

Welcome and Opening remarks

Representative from Sweden

08:40 am - 08:50 am

Setting the stage , COVID and Humanitarian crisis, crisis lasting longer, evidence and research show, need to scale up response

Dr. Natalia Kanem, Executive Director UNFPA

08:50 am - 09:00 am

Galvanize political action and resources to financing SRHR, predictable funding (TBC)

Ms Matilda Ernkrans, Minister for Development Cooperation of Sweden

09:00 am

09:00 am - 09:10 am

Showcasing: Blended finance instruments to scale up resources towards SRHR (Rwanda / Kenya)

SDG Fund (Mr. Robert Piper, DCO or Ms. Lisa Kurbiel, Joint SDG Fund)

09:10 am - 09:20 am

Permanent representative of Kenya or Rwanda to the United Nations

09:20 am - 09:40 am

Discussion and Q&A 20 min

Moderated by (TBC)

09:40 am - 09:45 am

Summary and Conclusions

Representative of Sweden