UNFPA Goodwill Ambassadors and Celebrity Spokespersons (FAQs)
What are the qualities needed to be a UNFPA Goodwill, Regional or Honorary Ambassador?
- A goodwill, regional or honorary ambassador should have a strong and expressed interest in reproductive health care and in the status of women.
- An honorary ambassador should command national media attention or work with the press. A goodwill ambassador should command wide international or global media attention, which transcends their country.
- An ambassador should have a demonstrated interest in human rights and developing countries
and peoples. - An ambassador should be prepared to take on the duties and responsibilities of the designation, some which are listed below.
- An ambassador may have a relevant personal story and can serve as a symbol to generate
support for specific programmes e.g. campaigns for girls' education, women's empowerment, against harmful traditional practices and against HIV/AIDS.
What are the duties of a UNFPA Goodwill, Regional or Honorary Ambassador?
- Visit UNFPA, government or civil society reproductive health care and family planning projects to give encouragement to and focus attention on those programmes.
- In developed countries, discuss the needs of reproductive health care and family planning programmes in developing countries, citing the work of the projects visited.
- Make public appearances, public service announcements and video news releases, and
participate in press conferences as well as electronic and print interviews. - Participate in major, national UNFPA campaign activities. Engage in dialogue with government officials or social and economic policymakers.
How is a UNFPA Goodwill, Regional or Honorary Ambassador chosen?
- An ambassador must possess some or all of the qualities listed above.
- Contact between a potential ambassador and UNFPA may be initiated by UNFPA directly or by a partner NGO in a particular country.
- Once a celebrity has agreed to be a UNFPA goodwill, regional or honorary ambassador and
the Fund is satisfied that they have the necessary qualities to be a goodwill, regional or honorary ambassador, the appointment is announced by Thoraya Obaid, Executive Director of UNFPA, or a UNFPA Country Representative. A news release may be issued to announce the appointment and, where necessary, a press conference is held at United Nations Headquarters, New York. - No designations shall be made without the explicit authorization of the Executive Director.
What are the goals of UNFPA Goodwill, Regional or Honorary Ambassadors?
- To bring to the attention of the public and decision makers throughout the world the needs of
people in developing countries, especially for reproductive health care, including family planning, sexual health and reproductive rights. - To remind donor governments of the promises they made at the 1994 Cairo International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) to increase their financial contributions so
that the ICPD Programme of Action can be fully implemented. A group of the world’s leading development experts advising the United Nations have determined that implementation of the
Cairo Programme is essential to attaining the world's poverty reduction and development goals.
Are UNFPA campaigns aimed at ordinary people?
Many people around the world recognize the right of all women having access to reproductive health
care, family planning information and services, and reproductive rights. However, a large number of the same people are unaware of how many women do not enjoy these rights and do not have access to
these services; how many women die daily because of a lack of these services; and what mechanisms exist to help establish and guarantee reproductive rights and deliver reproductive health care and family planning services.
Awareness campaigns are designed to:
- Bring these facts to the attention of the public;
- Encourage people to participate in campaigns through direct participation or advocacy activities; and
- Create constituencies that grasp these issues and support their governments' international
development commitments, especially in the area of reproductive health.