The Guttmacher Institute announced last week that Equimundo’s International Director Gary Barker is one of 14 experts who will serve on the Guttmacher-Lancet Commission on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights. By 2017, the Commission aims to identify global priorities and define an agenda for advancing health outcomes worldwide.
The Lancet, a UK-based medical journal, and Guttmacher Institute, a US nonprofit that works to advance reproductive health, have partnered to create the Guttmacher-Lancet Commission in response to gaps in the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for 2030. The commission aims to “articulate a forward-looking and evidence-based vision for sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) priorities worldwide over the next 15 years.”
The body of experts will not only examine core SRHR issues such as family planning and contraceptive use, maternal and newborn health, and sexually transmitted infections, but will also look at abortion services, nondiscrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, and access to healthcare services more broadly.
Gary Barker, as Equimundo’s Founder and International Director, has conducted extensive global research and program development around engaging men and boys in gender equality and violence prevention – including their involvement in sexual and reproductive health and rights – and is a leading voice for the worldwide effort to establish positive, healthy dynamics between men and women.
“The level and range of expertise of the commissioners will ensure that the work of the Guttmacher-Lancet Commission will be of the highest caliber,” said Ann Starrs, Guttmacher president and CEO and co-chair of the Commission in a statement. “It will provide a roadmap for truly addressing essential sexual and reproductive health and rights issues that are fundamental to achieving overall developmental goals.”
The commission will submit a final report, with its findings and recommendations, to The Lancet for publication in 2017.