EL CONSEJO DEL ASPEN INSTITUTE PARA LA SALUD REPRODUCTIVA
The Global Leaders Council for Reproductive Health is a group of sixteen sitting and former heads of state, high-level policymakers and other leaders committed to advancing reproductive health for lasting development and prosperity. Chaired by former President of Ireland Mary Robinson, these leaders will mobilize the political will and financial resources necessary to achieve universal access to reproductive health by 2015 – a key target of the UN Millennium Development Goals.
Members of the Global Leaders Council will employ social media, written statements, policy briefs, editorials in major periodicals, speaking engagements at the national and international level, a Population and Global Health Roundtable Series at the Aspen Institute, and other global opportunities to reclaim the debate about reproductive health, highlight linkages to global development that make reproductive health a vital investment, and challenge their fellow policymakers to commit to supporting reproductive health and increasing global reproductive health funding to the estimated $7 billion needed annually to achieve universal access to this critical services.
The Council was launched on September 20th, 2010 at the advent of the United National Millennium Development Goals Summit. The New York Times ran an advertisement regarding the Council’s formation, and the Council pledged commitments to theClinton Global Initiative and to the UN Every Woman, Every Child Campaign for Women’s and Children’s Health.
In May 2011 at the inaugural event in the Geneva Policy Dialogue Series for Reproductive Health, the Council announced The Resolve Award to honor innovative approaches by governments as they accelerate progress toward universal access to reproductive health through innovative policy development, financing or service provision methods. The award will be presented annually to honor the innovations in reproductive health policies, financing or delivery that are truly making a difference.
Who are the Members?
The Members of the Global Leaders Council for Reproductive Health are:
The Honorable Joyce Banda, Vice President, Malawi
Vice Admiral Regina Benjamin, Surgeon General of the United States
The Honorable Gro Harlem Brundtland, Former Prime Minister, Norway; Former Director-General, World Health Organization
The Honorable Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Former President, Brazil
The Right Honorable Helen Clark, UNDP Administrator and Chair of UN Development Group; former Prime Minister, New Zealand
Ambassador Jan Eliasson, Former President, United Nations General Assembly; Former Minister for Foreign Affairs, Sweden
The Honorable Tarja Halonen, President, Finland
The Honorable Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President, Liberia
Annie Lennox, Singer-Songwriter, Humanitarian and Founder of the SING Campaign
Ms. Phumzile Mlambo Ngcuka, Former Deputy President, South Africa
The Honorable Maria Otero (Ex Officio), Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs, United States
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, Realizing Rights: the Ethical Globalization Initiative
Dr. Fred Sai, Former President, International Planned Parenthood Federation; Former Director of Population, the World Bank
The Right Honorable Dame Jenny Shipley, Former Prime Minister, New Zealand and Vice President, Club of Madrid
The Honorable Vaira Vike-Freiberga, former President, Latvia
The Global Leaders Council members meet annually to review past work and plan for upcoming opportunities.