Transcript

Australia thanks the Working Group for its report.

Gender equality is a human right. As part of Australia's commitment to gender equality, we are working to ensure accessible, comprehensive health services for all women and girls, including sexual and reproductive health.

Through the COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen disappointing regressions on international gender norms and standards, threatening to unwind years of global effort to improve health outcomes for women and girls.

Australia is quickly expanding support for critical sexual and reproductive health and rights in the Indo-Pacific region, including through $44 million to scale up sexual reproductive health services.

Universal access to essential sexual reproductive health services, including through crisis situations, is central to advancing gender equality and ensuring women and girls can realise their full potential. This remains a priority for Australia.

In its report, the Working Group discusses the need to engage with women's rights organisations during crisis response. How can states leverage the expertise of these organisations to improve the sexual reproductive health services provided in crisis situations?

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