An update on sexual and reproductive justice advocacy, news, and scholarship from the SRJ Hub at CUNY SPH.
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Welcoming a new semester and academic year
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It's been a busy summer at the SRJ Hub! Early September saw the culmination of a momentous partnership with one of the world’s leading peer-reviewed medical journals as we launched The BMJ-CUNY SPH Collection on Protecting Global Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, a series of articles authored by SRJ Hub experts spanning governance, fiscal policy, and civil society.
We're honored to welcome Alecia McGregor, PhD, as the inaugural Byllye Avery Endowed Professor for Sexual and Reproductive Justice. We look forward to meeting our new students and reconnecting with our returning students in the MPH in Sexual and Reproductive Justice & Health program.
As we eagerly kick off the fall semester, keep reading for important news across SRJ research, advocacy, and scholarship at CUNY SPH and beyond.
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Launching the BMJ-CUNY SPH Collection on Protecting Global Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights
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On September 15, the BMJ-CUNY SPH Collection on protecting global sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) was published in partnership with one of the world’s leading peer-reviewed medical journals, accompanied by a launch event in New York. We were honored to share space and critical conversations with global SRHR experts and leaders. The event heard from Terry McGovern, SRJ Hub director and lead author of the collection, and Smruti Patel, associate editor at The BMJ as well as Martin Fraser, Ireland’s ambassador to the UN, and Dr. Javier Padilla Bernáldez, Spain’s Secretary of State for Health.
Global experts and the collection's authors also joined to take part in the event's lively two-part panel discussions on multilateral SRHR architecture and meaningful civil society participation. The launch event was a timely opportunity to confer on the state of global SRHR ahead of the 81st Session of the UN General Assembly.
You can explore this important collection, which is open access and freely available, at: bmj.com/collections/SRHR.
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If you missed the event or want to share with others, you can now watch and share the full live stream here.
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As world leaders gather at the 81st Session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA 81) this month, experts in a special collection of articles published by The BMJ warn that the proposed merger of UN Women and the UN Population Fund (UNFPA)—two vital institutions for protecting sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR)—will weaken global commitments to gender equality.
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The SRJ Hub at the 81st session of the UN General Assembly
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CUNY SPH is proud to announce that Alecia McGregor, PhD, has been appointed as the inaugural Byllye Avery Endowed Professor for Sexual and Reproductive Justice. Named for Byllye Avery, a pioneer in women’s health and foremother of the reproductive justice movement, it is the first endowed faculty role in a public health school focused on sexual and reproductive justice. Dr. McGregor will start the position at the end of September 2026.
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STEPS2, led by SRJ Faculty Researchers Heidi Jones and Suzanne McDermott, is testing the efficacy of an intervention offering six one-to-one remote socialization and sex education classes for young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The STEPS2 team is entering its final months of enrollment and has been working hard to increase female enrollment to understand how the classes work for young women. We need your help! Please share our information within your networks to help us reach more young women aged 16-27 with disabilities including Autism and/or intellectual disability.
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CUNY SPH is excited to continue growing the MPH concentration in Sexual and Reproductive Justice & Health (MPH in SRJH), after welcoming its first cohort last semester.
This first-of-its-kind program at a school of public health reflects CUNY SPH's commitment to advancing equity and justice in public health. The degree will prepare future leaders to re-imagine sexual and reproductive health through a justice-centered, interdisciplinary lens. We couldn’t be prouder to see the SRJ Hub’s mission taking shape in the curriculum.
The program is currently accepting applications for the Spring 2027 semester. Interested students can find more info at: cunysph.me/MPHinSRJH
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Revisiting our UNFPA-UN Women Merger Cost Benefit Analysis, produced in partnership with the Feminist Cross-Coalition UN80 Working Group
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The UN80 Initiative is a major UN reform effort launched around the organization’s 80th anniversary. Its goal is to improve efficiency, coordination, and impact across the UN system, partly in response to funding pressures and a changing global environment.
A key part of this reform effort is examining whether certain UN entities should be restructured or even merged to function more cohesively. One of the most consequential proposals under UN80 is a potential merger of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the UN’s agency for sexual and reproductive health and rights, with UN Women, the UN’s agency focused on gender equality and women’s empowerment.
The Feminist Cross-Coalition UN80 Working Group has released a cost-benefit analysis of the proposed UNFPA–UN Women merger, prepared in partnership with researchers at CUNY SPH’s Sexual & Reproductive Justice Hub and Plaksha University in India.
This cost-benefit analysis provides insight into what this change could mean for global efforts to advance gender equality and sexual and reproductive health and rights. It outlines key risks, opportunities, and implications for gender equality and sexual and reproductive health and rights.
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WHAT'S BUZZING ON SOCIAL MEDIA
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In partnership with one of the world’s leading peer-reviewed medical journals, the SRJ Hub at CUNY SPH is proud to share The BMJ-CUNY SPH Collection on Protecting Global Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR).
Amid growing anti-rights movements, declining multilateralism, and steep funding cuts, defending SRHR is more important than ever. This collection of articles provides rigorous analyses and essential insights on strategic action and civil society efforts to protect global SRHR, revealing the legal, fiscal, and institutional tactics of anti-rights movements and equipping advocates and policymakers with a clearer understanding of the landscape.
Spanning governance, fiscal policy, and civil society, the authors explore:
➡️ How policies restricting sexual and reproductive health care lead to poor health outcomes
➡️ The unrealistic expectation that countries can shoulder the full burden of SRHR services alone
➡️ Why supporting feminist civil society is critical to the future of SRHR
➡️ What advocates in the U.S. can learn from successful strategies in the Global South
➡️ How, despite the decline of multilateralism, this moment presents an opportunity for strengthened organization
➡️ Why strong multilateral institutions remain essential for advancing gender equality and SRHR
🔗 Read the full collection, which is free and open access, at the link in our bio or at bmj.com/collections/SRHR
#SRHR #ReproductiveRights #GlobalHealth
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