Arab
States
Reproductive health
Population and development strategies
Advocacy
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Africa
Central and Eastern Europe
Asia and the Pacific
Latin America and the Caribbean
Interregional Programmes
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Advocacy
A variety of advocacy activities were supported by UNFPA during the year, ranging from
assistance to Egypt to support government and NGO advocacy efforts to raise awareness on
the harmful practice of FGM, to support for sports competitions and musical events in
Djibouti, on the occasion of World Population Day, which drew attention to the prevention
of unwanted adolescent pregnancies and STD/AIDS. UNFPA is also supporting various advocacy
strategies to address the issue of violence against women. Counselling and legal services
to women are being integrated in the array of reproductive health services being offered,
including to women who are caught in civil war conflicts or other emergency and
post-crisis situations.
As part of its advocacy efforts to promote women’s reproductive rights and eliminate
discrimination against women and the girl child, the Islamic Educational Scientific and
Cultural Organization (ISESCO) published two booklets entitled Women Heroes and
Fatima’s Family. Also, two regional projects, supported by UNFPA, seek to promote
accurate interpretations of Islamic teachings and a better understanding of the position
of Islam on women’s rights as human rights.
The Fund has provided technical assistance to ministries of information, NGOs and health
education units that undertake advocacy activities. In many countries, staff skills have
been strengthened to enable the development of effective mass media and social
mobilization campaigns to promote reproductive health and rights. In the Syrian Arab
Republic, the Government and youth organizations, such as the Revolutionary Youth Union
(RYU), continued nationwide campaigns to address the sociocultural and religious barriers
that affect the health of young women and lead to early marriage and a confined social
status. In the United Arab Emirates, efforts are under way to advocate social justice and
gender equality and to promote women’s employment in government institutions and
their representation in the Parliament.
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