Global rollback of women's rights puts SDGs at risk

Åsmund Grøver Aukrust is Norway’s Minister of International Development and Nordic Co-operation and a SheDecides Champion.

Around the world, sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) are under coordinated and escalating attacks. What we are witnessing is not only a rollback of gender equality; it is part of a broader political assault on human rights, democratic values, and multilateral cooperation. 

A decade ago, the international community adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)  to ensure peace, prosperity, and dignity for all by 2030. With less than five years left to achieve them, only 17% of targets are on track. SRHR is foundational to achieving the SDGs - from health and education to gender equality and economic growth.

When women and girls can access modern contraception, maternal care, including safe abortion and accurate information, entire communities benefit.

Today, however, we are witnessing the rapid rise of an anti-rights movement working to dismantle decades of progress. From Europe to sub-Saharan Africa, local legislatures to UN negotiating rooms, this movement is well-organised, politically influential, and increasingly global.

Aided by increased funding – with some anti-rights groups almost doubling their spending in Africa between 2022 and 2023 – they continue to push for total bans on abortion and restrictions in SRHR, despite evidence showing restrictive legislation contributes to increased maternal and infant mortality. 

As the need for accessible healthcare grows in many communities around the world, vital services are being forced to close at an alarming rate.

Troubling trends

In Uganda, health centres offering reproductive and maternal care were closed this year. In Kenya, dozens of mobile health clinics serving remote areas have been suspended. These are the ripple effects of decisions made far from the communities they impact, most notably, the termination of family planning grants and the reinstatement of the harmful global gag rule.

In Europe too, we are witnessing troubling trends, frequently framed under the guise of so-called “family values.”

In 2023, for instance, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Poland’s restrictive 2020 abortion legislation violated the rights of a woman who was forced to travel abroad to access the procedure. 

Today, nearly half of all pregnancies are unintended, and many end in unsafe abortions. Every two minutes, a woman dies from preventable pregnancy-related causes. Only 55% of women are able to decide important aspects of their reproductive lives. This is a fundamental threat to our shared global development agenda.

Political will and targeted investments have driven real progress. Between 2000 and 2023, maternal mortality fell by 40%. In sub-Saharan Africa, HIV infections among adolescent girls and young women - once the hardest hit - have also dropped significantly thanks to better testing, prevention, and treatment.

These gains save lives and boost economies: every dollar invested in family planning and maternal health yields $8.4 in economic benefits.

But these gains are fragile. At the UN and other multilateral forums, hard-won commitments on SRHR face relentless pushback. Language on gender and reproductive rights is under attack, with some agreements even being reversed.

Setbacks to dignity and prosperity

The erosion of rights and norms has clear, serious consequences. Reduced funding for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the World Health Organization cuts millions of women and girls off from basic care. Censoring sexual health education fuels misinformation and vulnerability. Banning or stigmatising safe abortion leads to more unsafe procedures and higher rates of maternal deaths.

These setbacks are not peripheral - they strike at human dignity, prosperity, and our commitments to future generations.

In response to ongoing funding gaps and political pushback, Norway has invested 10.4 billion Norwegian krone (NOK) (about $1billion)  from 2020 to 2025 to uphold international norms and support frontline civil society partners.

Additionally, we recently announced that we will increase our support for SRHR by 86.5 million NOK.

Embedding SRHR and gender equality in Norway’s domestic policy has been vital to our prosperity, as progress in these areas builds healthier, more resilient societies, the foundation for development and economic growth.

Progress is possible, but concerted action is needed. I urge world leaders to consider how they will ensure we all deliver on our international commitments, especially for sexual and reproductive health and rights. It is imperative that we defend rights-based language in all negotiations and invest in a future where women's rights are unequivocally valued and secured.

Let this be the moment we remember why we committed to the SDGs in the first place – not just to fight poverty or grow economies, but to create a world where every person, regardless of gender, is able to live their lives in freedom and dignity.