02 February 2012 - Feature Story
GADARIF, Sudan — When Ahfad University for Women in Omdurman began offering a course in community development in the 1990s meant for mature, illiterate women farmers, the main goal was to expand the students’ role in the economic life of their communities. But over the years, many such courses have expanded to touch on more intimate subjects, including reproductive health, early marriage and even female genital mutilation/cutting, a longstanding tradition in the area.
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02 February 2012 - Feature Story
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — In a ceremony of poetry, drama and music, the Buremudaytu and Argoba districts in the Afar region officially abandoned female genital mutilation/cutting earlier this month. The event– attended by government and religious leaders, clan elders, former circumcisers and other community officials – was a remarkable achievement in an area where an extreme form of FGM/C (see box below) was almost universally practiced for centuries. The districts of Amibara, Awash Fentale and Gewane officially stopped cutting in December 2010.
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01 February 2012 - Statement
"UNFPA’s main focus in 2012 is on implementing the revised Strategic Plan and ensuring that we consistently deliver high-impact country programmes with sharp focus, renewed energy and increased efficiency and relevance," stated UNFPA Executive Director Babatunde Osotimehin at the UNDP/UNFPA/UNOPS Executive Board First Regular Session 2012.
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01 February 2012
UNITED NATIONS, New York – The next three years are critical for the global development agenda, UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin declared today at the UNFPA Executive Board's first formal session of the year.
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31 January 2012 - Feature Story
PATA, Senegal -- As Senegal edges closer to becoming the first African country to fully abandon the practice of female genital mutilation/cutting, younger women are supporting campaigns to change social norms surrounding the practice. In Pata, a village in the Kolda region of southeastern Senegal near the Gambian border, a celebration in November drew a huge crowd to formally announce the decision of 69 communities in Kolda to stop cutting.
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30 January 2012 - Press Release
UNITED NATIONS, New York/SANTA CLARA, California—The high number of unnecessary deaths during pregnancy and childbirth is unacceptable for Intel Corporation and UNFPA.
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27 January 2012 - Dispatch
DAVOS, Switzerland – Each January this Swiss resort village becomes a dynamic centre of world attention as some of its most important leaders and thinkers gather to share ideas at the World Economic Forum. This year, for the first time, a UNFPA Executive Director is attending. Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin’s presence there seems particularly apt, since the annual theme is ‘The Great Transformation: Shaping New Models’ and UNFPA spent a good part of last year building awareness about the possibilities inherent in a world of 7 billion, a milestone that was reached last October.
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20 January 2012 - Feature Story
KABUL — In mid-December, Maliha walked for five days to reach Faizabad, the capital of Badakhshan, in northeastern Afghanistan, to receive her award as best midwife in the province. She felt proud as she went onstage to be honoured for her work in her community health clinic.
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