Join leaders from across the world in their call for greater investment in reproductive health.
The Global Leaders Council for Reproductive Health is an unprecedented effort to increase momentum at the highest political levels for improved reproductive health. Chaired by former President of Ireland Mary Robinson, these senior leaders from more than a dozen countries believe that expanding access to reproductive health will be a breakthrough strategy for lasting development and prosperity worldwide.
The evidence is clear.
Investments in reproductive health pay enormous dividends for economic development, improve family and child health, protect the environment, increase security and advance women’s rights.
- When women and men have access to voluntary family planning, poverty rates go down, education rates go up and greater prosperity for families and their communities follow.
- When the more than 200 million women who want access to modern contraception have it, there are fewer unintended pregnancies, and maternal and infant deaths decrease.
- In the end, a nation’s health—its families, communities, and economy—is directly linked to the health and status of its women. And it is one of the best ways to protect women’s rights.
The Council members have issued “A Call for Resolve,” which calls on other leaders to join them in a worldwide resolve to increase reproductive health investments for significant development results.
Members of the Global Leaders Council for Reproductive Health
The Global Leaders Council for Reproductive Health has been led by prestigious heads of state, high-level policymakers, and others who have built political leadership for increased financial and technical support for reproductive health.
The Council focuses on renewing political commitments to reproductive health by raising awareness of key issues, promoting the efficient use of donor funding, and advancing policies to ensure universal access to reproductive health services.
The former and present members of the council include:
Her Excellency Joyce Banda
President, Malawi
Vice Admiral Regina Benjamin
Surgeon General of the United States
The Honorable Gro Harlem Brundtland
Former Prime Minister, Norway
The Honorable Fernando Henrique Cardoso
Former President, Brazil
The Right Honorable Helen Clark
UNDP Administrator and Chair of the UN Development Group; Former Prime Minister of New Zealand
The Honorable Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
Minister of Health, Ethiopia
The Honorable Tarja Halonen
Former President, Finland
The Honorable Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
President, Liberia
Dr. Musimbi Kanyoro
President and CEO, Global Fund for Women
Annie Lennox
Singer-Songwriter, Humanitarian and Founder of the SING Campaign
Ms. Phumzile Mlambo Ngcuka
Former Deputy President, South Africa
The Honorable María Otero (Ex Officio)
Office of the Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights
The Honorable Joy Phumaphi
Former Minister of Health, Botswana; Former Vice President of Human Development, The World Bank
The Honorable Mary Robinson (Chair)
Former President Ireland; President, Mary Robinson Foundation – Climate Justice
Dr. Fred Sai
Former President, International Planned Parenthood Federation; Former Senior Population Advisor, World Bank
The Right Honorable Dame Jenny Shipley
Former Prime Minister, New Zealand; Vice President of the Club of Madrid
Ted Turner
Founder and Chairman, United Nations Foundation
The Honorable Vaira Vike-Freiberga
Former President, Latvia