World Bank failing on reproductive health?

In an article for UK newspaper The Guardian, Elizabeth Arend of US NGO Gender Action questioned the World Bank’s status as a “global leader” in reproductive health. Arend noted that between 2010 and 2011 just 0.2 per cent of the Bank’s budget was spent on the issue and revealed that almost half of the Bank’s reproductive health projects are funded by loans, which can “divert domestic spending away from vital public health services.” The article also challenged the Bank on its efforts to address maternal mortality due to unsafe abortions, and for requiring women to pay “prohibitive amounts” for prenatal and post-natal care.

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Published: 5 April 2012 , last edited: 5 April 2012

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