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UNFPA News

10 March 2010 - Press Release

Bill & Melinda Gates, Asian Parliamentary Group, Win 2010 United Nations Population Award

UNITED NATIONS, New York — Bill and Melinda Gates and the Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development have won this year’s United Nations Population Award. Announced here today, the Award is given annually to individuals and institutions for outstanding work in population and in improving the health of individuals. Chaired by Malaysia’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Hamidon Ali, the Award Committee chose the laureates from 28 international nominees. The Committee consists of 10 United Nations Member States, with UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, as its secretariat. The Award is scheduled to be presented on 3 June at a ceremony at the United Nations.
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09 March 2010 - Press Release

UNFPA Supports Health Services for Resettled Women in Northern Sri Lanka

COLOMBO,  Sri Lanka — Getting proper health care is a challenge for thousands of Sri Lankans who have recently gone home to former conflict zones. UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, is stepping up its support for the health and safety of women and girls who are returning, particularly those who are pregnant. At least 2,500 pregnant women have moved out of camps for the displaced since the start of the year, returning to their homes or moving in with host families. UNFPA estimates that some 150 of them will give birth in the next month.
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09 March 2010 - Dispatch

Sadness and Optimism Mark International Women's Day Celebration in Haiti

PORT-AU-PRINCE — “There was sadness, but also songs of joy and a strong commitment to rebuild Haiti,” said Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, Executive Director of UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, after attending an International Women’s Day celebration on the grounds of the Haitian Ministry of Women’s Affairs in Port-au-Prince, the country’s earthquake-ravaged capital. The Ministry of Women’s Affairs was completely destroyed in the January 12 earthquake, along with the Presidential Palace, the Ministry of Health and scores of other public buildings. Many women activists died, trapped inside the Ministry. A memorial was held today to honor them. more
09 March 2010 - Dispatch

Engaging Men and Boys as Partners in Creating Gender Equality

UNITED NATIONS — Because men wield much of social, political and economic power in many poor and developing countries, achieving gender equality and reducing violence against women will demand their active participation and cooperation. That message was emphasized at a panel discussion “Boys and Men: Partners in Gender Equality” organized by the UNFPA, United Nations Population Fund, and UNICEF in conjunction with the 54th Commission on the Status of Women. The panelists included advocates, activists and civil society workers from different parts of the world, all of whom had years of experience working at the grass-roots level with boys and young adults. more
08 March 2010 - Dispatch

20/20 Vision: Mobilizing for Women’s Rights and Eliminating Violence against Women

New York—The Women’s Learning Partnership (WLP) – an organization established after the Beijing Conference, 15 years ago – met on March 5 at the New School in New York to celebrate and to discuss ways for mobilizing women’s rights and eliminating violence against women. “We work hard for the kind of world that we want to be in and that is why it is better we work in partnership with men and boys,” said WLP President Mahnaz Afkhami to a packed auditorium. “We believe in the power to change traditions and cultural practices that are harmful and autocratic. This is an opportunity for us to chart a new future.”
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05 March 2010 - Dispatch

With the 10 Year review of the United Nations Millennium Goals approaching, momentum builds for increased action to improve maternal and newborn health

A joint effort has been launched to reach MDGs 4 and 5. Partners in this joint effort will develop a Global Action Plan, including a framework for accountability, which will address critical gaps and accelerate progress on reducing maternal and newborn child health through increased attention, coordination and resources, and through better leverage of ongoing national efforts as well as existing human, financial and political capital. more
05 March 2010 - Dispatch

Work with Agents of Change to Promote Women’s Rights, Says UNFPA

UNITED NATIONS, New York — People are critical agents of change in all cultures, who must be engaged to promote the rights of women and protect them from violence, said Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, Executive Director of UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund. Discriminatory attitudes and harmful practices are deeply rooted and are often stronger than the laws banning them, said Ms. Obaid. To end these practices, she added, it is necessary to go deeper, to wear a ‘cultural lens’, and to “use “culturally sensitive approaches” to promote change from within.”
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04 March 2010 - Dispatch

Six UN Agencies Call for Intensified Efforts to Help Adolescent Girls

NEW YORK — Adolescent girls have often been missing in policy and programming. Yet many believe that their well-being the key to eliminating poverty, achieving social justice, stabilizing the population, and preventing foreseeable humanitarian crises. UNFPA, along with five other UN organizations, issued a Joint Statement at a reception yesterday, to step up and intensify efforts to fulfill the human rights of marginalized adolescent girls. The statement, issued during the Commission on the Status of Women, sends a strong message that the UN and its partner organizations believe empowering adolescent girls can bring about desired changes in the world. more
03 March 2010 - Press Release

Mobile Teams Assist Mongolian Mothers Endangered by ‘Dzud’ Disaster

ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia — Mongolia’s extreme winter conditions are preventing expectant mothers from reaching health facilities, putting their lives at risk. In response, UNFPA is supporting mobile medical teams that have brought life-saving care to women in isolated districts in 12 provinces. Last week, a team in Khovd Province rescued a herder who had gone into labour in her tent. Heavy snow blocked the way to the nearest hospital, some 30 kilometres away. “It took us 10 hours to bring her to the district centre,” said Dr. Davaabal, chief gynaecologist at the Khovd Health Department. “Luckily, there were no complications and the woman gave birth to a healthy child.” more

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Latest publications

  • Beijing at 15
    The document presents a review of progress in acheiving the objectives of the Beijing Platform for Action and how those objectives are relevant to UNFPAs mandate, ICPD, the MDGs and other international commitments.

  • A Human Rights-Based Approach to Programming
    This Manual, produced through a collaboration between UNFPA and the Harvard School of Public Health, provides step-by-step guidance on how to apply a culturally sensitive, gender-responsive, human rights-based approach to programming in each of UNFPA’s three core areas of work: population and development, reproductive health, and  gender.

  • Reducing Maternal Mortality
    This publications shows that reducing maternal mortality is not only an issue of development is also an issue of human rights.