(Washington, DC, Wednesday, December 12, 2018) – The Center for Health and Gender Equity (CHANGE), in partnership with the Global Women’s Institute at the George Washington University, created the Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Index: Grading U.S. Global Health Assistance to critically assess the U.S. government’s work on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and hold it accountable to its commitments.
The new data tool, released today, offers a first-of-its-kind index providing public access to information from across U.S. government agencies and health funding silos related to support for global SRHR. The SRHR Index grades commitments, leadership at the executive level, and funding levels and actions across a comprehensive set of SRHR issues.
The SRHR Index evaluates six U.S. government agencies across three domains that represent core funding streams of U.S. global health assistance: family planning, maternal and child health, and HIV and AIDS.
Ratings are assigned to each policy and budget-related action taken by specific actors. In addition, the U.S. government receives an overall grade for each domain and a final composite grade for SRHR in U.S. global health assistance. The Index also measures the availability of data needed to assign a grade. Known as the transparency grade, it represents the expectation that the federal government should make data about U.S. global health assistance accessible and informative.
The SRHR Index reveals the scope and breadth of SRHR across U.S. global health assistance. It is designed to be sensitive to and reflective of both negative actions that contribute to restrictions on global SRHR, including the Global Gag Rule (also known as the Mexico City Policy and, under the Trump administration, Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance), the Anti-Prostitution Loyalty Oath, and the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) refusal clauses, and positive actions that contribute to SRHR, such as the DREAMS Partnership and the Gender-Based Violence Strategy.
The Center for Health and Gender Equity (CHANGE) is a U.S.-based nongovernmental organization that promotes sexual and reproductive health and rights as a means to achieve gender equality and empowerment of all women and girls, by shaping public discourse, elevating women’s voices, and influencing U.S. and global policies.