Leo XIV Appoints Figure Connected to Planned Parenthood and WEF
Songwe was born in Nairobi, Kenya, of Cameroonian nationality, in August 1968.
Embedded in the Global Climate and Finance Network
From 1998 to 2015, she held several positions at the World Bank. From 2015 to 2017, she served as Director for West and Central Africa at the International Finance Corporation.
From 2017 to 2022, she served as Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA).
She founded and chairs the Liquidity and Sustainability Facility, and is also currently a Senior Fellow at the 'Brookings' Institution in Washington, D.C.
These institutions support programmes which typically include contraception and abortion.
Songwe has also served on the advisory board of ID4Africa, which promotes national digital identity systems across African countries.
Personal Meeting with International Planned Parenthood Federation
During Vera Songwe's leadership of UNECA (2017–2022), the commission participated in the implementation of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals in Africa. These included targets to "ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights", which are euphemisms for contraception and abortion.
In February 2020, the UN Economic Commission for Africa's archive states that Executive Secretary Vera Songwe met with the International Planned Parenthood Federation Africa Region to discuss collaboration between the two institutions (screenshot below).
Planned Parenthood is one of the world's largest companies to kill unborn children.
The 2020 Africa Sustainable Development Report, which was prepared under the leadership of Songwe, describes access to "family planning and reproductive health services" as a health indicator.
The report discusses access to contraception: "Worldwide, more than three quarters of all women of reproductive age have satisfactory [!] access to family planning methods."
World Economic Forum Ecosystem
Songwe has participated in events linked to the World Economic Forum (WEF). The WEF website lists Songwe as an 'Agenda Contributor' (someone who writes analysis pieces for the forum's platform).
She has also spoken at the WEF's annual meeting in Davos in 2023, 2024 and 2026.
Furthermore, she has participated in WEF-related policy networks. For example: Songwe is listed among participants connected with the ‘Global Future Council on Business and Economic Growth’, a WEF initiative.
Picture: © World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, CC BY-NC-SA, #newsFmzrxlvygs