Overview
- On Thursday Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Lisa Murkowski sent a bipartisan letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio pressing for immediate action to protect women and infants in eastern DRC.
- The senators asked the State Department to unlock $608 million in FY2026 international family‑planning funding and to authorize distribution of about $1.7 million in contraceptive supplies stored in Geel, Belgium.
- They requested a humanitarian exemption so U.S. support can flow to the UN Population Fund’s clinics that are already operating across dozens of health zones.
- UNFPA reports a $20.8 million funding gap with roughly 91% of Congo response needs unmet and a regional report found maternal deaths in Ituri roughly doubled to about 6.2 per week.
- The letter cites that Ebola in pregnancy has an almost certain fetal loss rate and high maternal hemorrhage risk and warns that prior U.S. policy choices, including withdrawal from UNFPA and expired supplies, have worsened the crisis while the State Department has not yet publicly responded.