UK fails to contribute as donors unite to bridge US 'global gag' funding shortfall
As countries pledge a total of €181m to fill void left by Trump administration’s funding ban, UK highlights existing commitments on family planning
Jennifer Rankin in Brussels and Jessica Elgot in London
Thursday 2 March 2017
The British government failed to join other donors in pledging millions of dollars to an international fund aimed at filling the gap left by Donald Trump’s reimposition of the “global gag rule”.
At a conference in Brussels on Thursday attended by delegates from 50 countries, pledges were made totalling €181m (£155m) to fund family planning and reproductive health services in low-income countries. Organisers hope to counter Trump’s ban on US aid to overseas groups that provide abortion or abortion advocacy, one of the US president’s first acts in the White House.
Countries including Canada, Sweden and Finland lined up to announce pledges, while Britain’s minister at the talks presented existing spending commitments.
Continued at source: The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2017/mar/02/uk-donors-unite-us-global-gag-rule-shortfall-trump-she-decides-conference-brussels