Nada Tawfik
Reporting from New York

The spokesperson for the UN Secretary General, Stephane Dujarric, has just been asked about Elise Stefanik.

We previously learned that Donald Trump will appoint Stefanik as US ambassador to the UN.

Dujarric says they will work constructively with the next UN ambassador, just as they do with any other country.

One UN agency preparing for any contingency is UNFPA, the UN Sexual and Reproductive Health Agency. Over the past four decades, it has been denied funding by Republican administrations, including Trump’s first, because of what the agency says is a factually incorrect “persistent myth” that it engages in forced abortion or involuntary sterilization in China.

Based on past experience, the country will almost certainly lose US financial support again. The agency says this would result in women losing life-saving services in some of the world’s most devastating crises. In Afghanistan, the agency says it would no longer be able to operate 13 maternal and child health centers that reach nearly 80,000 women and girls in need.

And in Sudan, access to reproductive health care will be reduced for more than half a million people, according to the report.

Sarah Craven, head of UNFPA’s Washington office, says it’s not just about the money, but also the loss of political support, which worries her.

“I’m afraid it’s not just about our sector, but across the board there can be real anchoring in global health financing and overall engagement.”