 |
| |
4 July 2008
YANGON, Myanmar— Survivors of the Myanmar disaster have proven remarkably resilient, but there is still a critical need for aid. And in the affected areas, it is apparent that women urgently require reproductive health care.
more.. 
UNFPA Welcomes Call by UN Security Council for Immediate Halt to Sexual Violence in Conflict Settings
UNITED NATIONS, New York, 24 June 2008 – UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, welcomed last week’s call by the United Nations Security Council for an immediate halt of all acts of sexual violence against women in conflict situations. The Fund described it as a historical achievement that would go a long way in protecting the dignity of women and girls who are often subjected to violence as a tactic of war.
more..
In Times of Crisis, a Minimum Initial Package of Services Yields Maximum Reproductive Health Benefits
KAMPAL, Uganda --- In an instant, the life and well-being of an entire population can be threatened by a cyclone, a tsunami or the eruption of political violence. In the event of a crisis, immediate and appropriate action must be taken in order to ensure that individuals are provided with food, clean water, shelter, sanitation and primary health care.
more..
Young People from Liberia Raise their Voices Against Violence
KAMPALA, Uganda --- Woloquoi Davis was just seven years old when the conflict in Liberia broke out. Rebels slaughtered his uncle and grand uncle before his very eyes. Forced to flee for his life, along with his few remaining family members, Woloquoi ran as fast as his young legs would carry him. Throughout his search for safety and freedom, he witnessed rebels killing innocent civilians and looting and burning the houses and property of his community members.
more..
Good Neighbours: UNFPA Trains Nigerian Men and Women to Bring Better Reproductive Health to their Communities
ILESHE, Nigeria, 4 January 2008 — Prophet Adebisi is an imposing man. A middle-aged community leader here in Ileshe, a rural town in southern Nigeria, he has a deep voice and square build that seem to command authority. And he is putting that authority to use, directing a group of younger men from the town on seating arrangements.
more..
Heed Expert Advice of Women, Youth, in AIDS Response, UNFPA Urges World Leaders
UNITED NATIONS, New York – World leaders attending a high-level meeting on HIV/AIDS here this week should pay more attention to women and youth, especially those living with HIV and AIDS, and seek their expert advice in responding to the epidemic. In addition, interventions addressing AIDS and sexual and reproductive health should be integrated in order to become mutually reinforcing, according to UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund.
more..
Volunteers in Guinea Reach Out to Neighbours in Need
N’ZÉRÉKORÉ, Guinea — It is eight in the morning, a few hours before the sun peaks over southeastern Guinea. Uniformed schoolchildren hurry out onto dirt roads, creating a patchwork of gingham across the city’s awakening streets. Passengers climb onto idling moped taxis, balancing briefcases or buckets as they head off to work.
more..
Prevention is for Life
UNITED NATIONS, New York – In conjunction with the 2008 high-level meeting on AIDS at the United Nations headquarters in New York on 10 - 11 June, UNFPA has launched a booklet documenting success stories in HIV prevention from around the world.
more..
Struggling to Overcome Stigma and Silence about HIV in Tajikstan
DUSHANBE, Takjistan, 25 January 2008 —Sitora, 25, has told no one of her condition. She is a healthcare worker who acquired the infection in her twenties – possibly from a needle stick injury. Her father knows that she is working with an NGO dedicated to working with those affected. But when she asked him what he thought about those living with HIV, his answer was unequivocal.
more..
Statement of the UNFPA on the Global Food Crisis, Population and Development
Around 100 million more people face food shortages this year compared to last year as a result of the recent increase in world food prices. The price increase is due to many factors, including the high price of oil and fuel, the conversion of food grains into biofuels, market speculation on agricultural commodities, droughts and floods in some countries, and increasing consumption.
more..
Long Distance Cyclers Helping to End Fistula
SEATTLE --- “Making a positive change is really a choice,” said Kelsea Peterman, 23. Kelsea and her sister Amber, 27, have recently made that choice by merging two of their individual passions – the cause to end obstetric fistula and the physical challenge of long-distance cycling. On 27 May 2008 the women embarked on an 1,100-mile bike ride from Seattle to San Francisco to raise money for the global Campaign to End Fistula, spearheaded by UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund.
more..
Stronger Health Systems and Better Maternal Health Critical to African Development, Japan Summit Affirms
YOKOHAMA, Japan – Stronger health systems, improved maternal and child health, and effective prevention of AIDS and other infectious diseases are essential to African development, more than 40 heads of State agreed today.
more..
Leaders at Japan-Africa Gathering Should Speed Action to End Maternal Death, Reduce Poverty in Africa, Says UNFPA
TOKYO—UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, has urged leaders gathering for the Fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD IV) to commit to swifter action to end maternal death and promote women’s rights, to speed up poverty reduction in Africa. TICAD IV will be held in Yokohama, Japan, from Wednesday to Friday.
more..
Fistula Advocates Visit Capitol Hill: Maternal Mortality Resolution Passes House
WASHINGTON, D.C.—“Living with obstetric fistula is a life full of stigma,” said 32-year-old Sarah Omega of Kenya at a press conference on Capitol Hill last week. Sarah suffered from this debilitating injury of childbearing for twelve years before she was treated surgically.
more..
After Chinese Earthquake, UNFPA Mobilizes Supplies to Help Pregnant Women Deliver Safely
BANGKOK/NEW YORK—UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, is mobilizing life-saving reproductive health supplies to help China respond to the deadly earthquake in Sichuan Province.
more..
Former Barbados Minister, Family Care International to Receive United Nations Population Award
UNITED NATIONS, New York — The 2008 winners of the United Nations Population Award will receive their medals this week at an official ceremony at United Nations Headquarters. The two laureates, a former policy maker from Barbados and a New York-based non-governmental organization (NGO), were chosen for their outstanding work in population and in improving the health of individuals.
more..
Contraception Can Save Lives in Humanitarian Emergencies
New York – In Afghanistan, where fertility and maternal death rates are among the highest in the world, restricted access to certain conflict areas makes it nearly impossible to deliver contraceptives to woman who would like to have fewer and safer pregnancies. After natural disasters, supply chains are often disrupted. And in Darfur women and young people trying to locate family planning services and information may wind up as survivors of sexual violence or worse: dead.
more..
UNFPA Executive Director Receives 'MDG 3 Champion Torch'
COPENHAGEN – UNFPA’s Executive Director Thoraya Obaid today received an ‘MDG 3 Champion Torch’ from the Danish Minister for Development Cooperation Ulla Tørnæs. The torch symbolizes Denmark’s commitment to raising gender equality and women’s empowerment (MDG 3) higher on the international agenda so as to accelerate progress toward all of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
more..
Happily Strung Along: In Senegal, Women Count Beads as Contraception
THIÈS, Senegal, 13 May 2008 – It is considered bad luck in parts of Senegal to say precisely how many people live in a household. Counting aloud, it is believed, might invite misfortune to a member of the family. Here in Thiès, Ourousse Diop shares her home with her large, extended family. Roughly a dozen people stream in and out of the rooms. They collect around a radio, then disperse as they tend to children and chores. But exactly how many they are is unclear.
more..
$3 Million Requested by UNFPA to Help Women and Girls Displaced by Myanmar Cyclone
UNITED NATIONS, New York — UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, is appealing for $3 million to address the urgent humanitarian concerns of cyclone-affected populations, particularly women and girls, in Myanmar’s Ayeyarwady and Yangon regions.
more..
On Pangea Day, Play a Part in Protecting Maternal Health and Ending Fistula
NEW YORK, 8 May 2008 – Some 250 million years ago, all of the earth’s land mass formed one supercontinent, Pangea. On May 10, organizers of Pangea Day, aim to restore connections between far-flung places through the power of story telling, film, and new technologies--allowing individuals to see the world through the eyes of others.
more..
International Day of the Midwife
UNITED NATIONS, New York — Every day, midwives are saving women’s lives by making delivery safe. Their essential care before, during and after delivery ensures that no woman dies giving life. When women are healthy, families are healthy. And when families are healthy, the well-being of communities and nations also improves.
more..
Double Duty: Linking Sexual and Reproductive Health in Papua New Guinea
PAPUA NEW GUINEA 2 May 2008 – When Athaliah Bagoi was only ten years old she thought her mother was going to die.“My mother delivered my third brother, and she started bleeding two weeks after delivery. She was nearly dead,” Ms. Bagoi explains. “They carried her on a stretcher, and it really made me scared. She lost a lot of blood -- she was so weak. One of my aunties had to breastfeed my two-week-old brother.”
The family contacted a plane that transported the girl’s mother from their remote village in Papua New Guinea to the capital Port Moresby, where she was treated and eventually got better. The experience left an indelible impression on the young girl. She knew that day that she wanted to grow up to save other women’s lives.
more..
UNFPA Strengthens Partnership with UNHCR
GENEVA, 30 April 2008 — UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) signed an agreement here today to strengthen their combined efforts to respond to the sexual and reproductive health needs of populations displaced by crisis.
more..
Conference Calls for Major Investments in Health Services to Prevent 10 Million Maternal and Child Deaths
CAPE TOWN, 19 April 2008 — A three-day conference on tracking global progress to reduce maternal, newborn and child deaths has concluded today with a call for scaled-up investments in basic health services and human resources to reduce the preventable deaths of over 10 million children and women each year.
more..
G8 Action Urged to Avert Six Million Mother and Child Deaths Every Year
New York/Cape Town, 18 April 2008 — The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health has called on the Group of Eight (G-8) nations’ leaders to fulfil their previous commitments to global health and commit to new, long-term financing for essential interventions that could avert the deaths of over 6 million mothers, newborns and children every year.
more..
Malawi: Rolling Back Maternal Deaths Through Community Involvement
DEDZA, Malawi — Faustina, aged 40, lies swaddled in a thick blanket in the maternity ward of Dedza District Hospital, in Malawi. Although she has just lost a baby, delivered through Cesarean section, she considers herself lucky to be alive. This was Faustina’s twelfth pregnancy. Although she has borne 9 children and endured two abortions, she prayed for this delivery to be normal. So, as soon as felt labour pangs, she reported to the Bembeke Catholic Health Centre. Because she was bleeding heavily, she was immediately referred to the Dedza District Hospital for expert attention. That decision saved her life.
more..
New Film Series Takes on Culture of Silence on Violence Against Women
UNITED NATIONS, Geneva, 17 April 2008 — This is an unfortunate anniversary. Fourteen years ago, in April 1994, news got out that ethnic violence in Kigali was spreading throughout Rwanda. Since then, the world community has struggled to explain how the genocide of 800,000 people happened in full view, but less discussed is the ongoing impact of the rape and other forms of sexual violence committed against hundreds of thousands of women.
more..
Critical Health Care Fails to Reach Most Women and Children in High-Mortality Countries
New York / Cape Town, 16 April 2008—Leading global health experts, policymakers and parliamentarians are convening in Cape Town from 17th to 19th April at the Countdown to 2015 conference to address the urgent need for accelerated progress to reduce maternal, newborn and child deaths.
more..
A Bumpy Ride Can Mean the Difference between Life and Death in Guatemala
PETÉN, Guatemala, 14 April 2008 — On a late afternoon last fall, Marcelino Coc was cycling anxiously on a dirt road in Guatemala’s Petén province. He was trying to find someone who could help bring his wife, Maria (25), to the hospital in Sayaxché by car, or, if that was not possible, a midwife -- actually for anyone who could help.
more..
Fistula Surgery Camp Offers Treatment and Training
SYLHET, Bangladesh, 8 April 2008 — Twenty-nine women suffering from obstetric fistula underwent repair surgery here last week during a three-day marathon training session that involved medical staff from four Asian countries.
more..
Putting People First
UNITED NATIONS, New York, 7 April 2008 — It is important that we continue to move forward with the collective wisdom that working in the field of population and development is about people and putting people first. During this year as we engage in discussions about achieving the Millennium Development Goals, advancing social and economic progress and financing for development, let us remember that the goal of development is to support people, especially the poor and marginalized, in their quest to improve their lives, reach their full potential and realize their human rights.
more..
Campaign Says 'No' to the Sexual Violence that Rages in DRC
KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo, 4 April 2008 — In mid-March hundreds of Congolese women, men and girls raised banners that read, Together, let us say No to the silence, for the dignity of the Congolese and Enough sexual violence!. With faces of determination, the women, men and girls waved these slogans high above their heads. More than 1,000 Congolese authorities and civilians, UN leaders, NGOs and civil society groups’ were gathered in Kinkole, a suburb of Kinshasa, to kick off a nationwide public awareness campaign aimed to eradicate an epidemic of sexual violence.
more..
New Report to Reveal Latest Trends in Health Coverage to Save Lives of Mothers, Babies and Children
New York, 3 April 2008 - Leading global health experts, policymakers and parliamentarians will gather in Cape Town, South Africa from 17 to 19 April 2008 for the Countdown to 2015 for Maternal, Newborn & Child Survival Conference and report launch. The report will reveal the latest trends in life-saving interventions critical to reducing deaths and reach The Millennium Development Goals on health. The event takes place in advance of G8 Summit discussions on strengthening health systems for maternal, newborn and child health, to be held in Japan in July 2008.
more..
Award-Winning Film Captures the Agony and Endurance of Fistula Survivors
NEW YORK, 2 April 2008 – Four years after a film producer first read about obstetric fistula, a documentary portraying the lives of its survivors is drawing wide audiences and winning major awards. The film, “A Walk to Beautiful”, follows the journeys of Ayehu, Zewdie, Almaz, Yenenesh and Wubete to the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital to seek treatment for the devastating child-birth injury that has left each of them incontinent. From their remote villages, over miles of dusty steppes and sprawling lowlands, the women travel to the capital city to reclaim their dignity after years of social ostracism.
more..
Taking It to the Streets: Bringing HIV Prevention and Treatment to the Vulnerable Communities in Côte d'Ivoire
SAN PEDRO, Côte d’Ivoire, 31 March 2008 — She ran away from her home in Nigeria after her husband died in an accident. And she refused to marry his younger brother as was the custom in her region.
more..
On the Front Lines of the Struggle to Save Mothers' Lives
KAMPALA, Uganda, 27 March 2008 – Acute shortages of midwives and other health workers are hampering efforts to save the lives of mothers and strengthen health systems, particularly in Africa and Asia. UNFPA recently joined health advocates in at the Global Forum on Human Resources for Health and issued a call for more attention to this issue. The Global Health Workforce Alliance, of which UNFPA is an active member, estimates that a total of 4.25 million health workers are needed to meet the critical staff shortages in 57 countries. Scaling up the number of health workers critical, but midwives also need specific skills to be able to recognize and respond to complications that put mothers and infants at risk. Below we hear from midwives from around the world who attended the forum as they talk about how critical shortfalls are affecting their work.
more..
UNFPA Welcomes OIC Emphasis on Development and Poverty Eradication
UNITED NATIONS, New York, 14 March 2008 - UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, welcomes the focus on peace and economic development at the 11th Summit of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) that is taking place in Dakar, Senegal. "We welcome the focus on poverty eradication," said Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, UNFPA Executive Director.
more..
UNFPA Urges Action to Meet Global Shortfalls in Health Workers
KAMPALA, Uganda, 12 March 2008 – UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, is lending its voice to health advocates from around the globe who have issued an urgent call to action to meet severe health workforce shortages in Africa and Asia.
more..
Statement on the Occasion of International Women's Day
UNITED NATIONS, New York, 8 March 2008 - It is good to invest in women and girls, and it pays to do so. This year, on International Women’s Day, UNFPA reaffirms that investing in women and girls is one of the best investments governments can make.
more..
Barbados Policy Maker; Family Care International (FCI) Win 2008 UN Population Award
UNITED NATIONS, New York, 5 March 2008 — A policy maker who advocates population and gender issues, Dame Billie Antoinette Miller of Barbados, and a New York-based non-governmental organization (NGO) that helps save women’s lives in developing countries, Family Care International (FCI), have won this year’s United Nations Population Award. The Award is given each year to individuals and institutions for their outstanding work in population and in improving the health and welfare of individuals
more..
Sexual Violence Threatens Women and Girls in Kenya's Post-Election Crisis
KIBERA, Kenya, 5 March 2008 — In early January, armed men tore into the house of a 32-year-old mother of three in Kibera. They undressed and then sexually assaulted her in turns. A few days later, the woman came to the Gender Violence Recovery Centre in Nairobi Women’s Hospital for help. Her upper arm was swollen, her fingers bruised and her chest was tender.
more..
Putting Evidence-Based Protocols into Practice
UNITED NATIONS, New York, 1 March 2008 — How does a health worker help a young couple decide which contraceptive is best suited to their needs? At what point during a problematic delivery does a clinic midwife decide to rush the labouring woman to a district hospital?
more..
UN Agencies Unite Against Female Genital Mutilation
New York, 27 February 2008 – Expressing their commitment to the elimination of female genital mutilation, also called female genital cutting and female genital mutilation/cutting, 10 United Nations agencies pledged in a statement today to support governments, communities, and women and girls to abandon the practice within a generation, with a major reduction in many countries by 2015, the year the Millennium Development Goals are set to be achieved.
more..
Banking on the Future: Micro-Credit Leads to Macro-Changes in Tajikistan
GARM, Tajikistan, 27 February 2008 — On a late afternoon in a small village near the town of Garm a group of women are sit cross-legged on the brightly coloured padded quilts that are a fixture in all Tajik households. Outside the jamoat – or community centre – a chilly wind flattens the rough grasses surrounding this tiny collection of one-storey houses.
more..
Launch of the Secretary-General's Campaign on Violence Against Women
UNITED NATIONS, New York, 25 February 2008 - It is an honour to join you today for the launch of your campaign, Mr. Secretary-General, to end violence against women. And I am honoured to be speaking on behalf of the United Nations system. This campaign represents the recognition at the highest level that eliminating violence against women is a priority for the world today. It is a human rights requirement.
more..
UNFPA to Call for Higher Investments in Women During United Nations Global Meeting
UNITED NATIONS, New York, 21 February 2008 — Government officials, experts, and representatives of non-governmental organizations will meet here next week to evaluate investments made so far in achieving equality between men and women. The gathering, during the Commission on the Status of Women to take place from 25 February to 7 March 2008, will share lessons learned and good practices, identify effective policies, and foster the exchange of national and regional experiences to achieve gender equality, empower women, and reduce gender-based violence.
more..
UNFPA Scales Up Efforts to Save Millions of Women
UNITED NATIONS, New York— A new thematic fund for maternal health has been created to boost global efforts to reduce the number of women dying in pregnancy and childbirth. The fund, established by UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, will also encourage developed countries and private sponsors to contribute more to saving women’s lives.
more..
Protecting their Own: Youth Volunteers in Senegal are a Force for Health
TAMBACOUNDA, Senegal, 8 February 2008 — Mamadou Doumboya has an interesting way of spending his free time. Each week he ventures into the traffic-choked squares and intersections of his hometown, shouldering an array of sex education pamphlets, informational videos and condoms. He then hands out the pamphlets, shows the videos, and, if anyone is still confused, demonstrates how to wear a condom—using an appropriately shaped piece of wood as a model.
more..
Giving Young People the Opportunities and the Priority they Deserve
NEW YORK, 8 February 2008 — The aspirations, skills, rights, opportunities and health of young people are a top piority for UNFPA. “This generation of young people is the largest in world history,” UNFPA Executive Director Thoraya A. Obaid told her organization at its 2007 Global Meeting. “We will fail them and ourselves if we do not embrace them and their dreams for a better future. “Making youth a priority is not an option; it is a necessity,” she continued, adding that youth will determine whether development succeeds or fails.
more..
Pregnant Women, their Children, Fleeing Violence in Chad Face Increased Risk, UNFPA Says
DAKAR, Senegal, 6 February 2008 — As tens of thousands of people flee the ongoing violence in Chad, concerns are being raised by UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, for the health and safety of expectant mothers and their children.
more..
Statement at the 2008 First Regular Session of the UNDP/UNFPA Executive Board
UNITED NATIONS, New York - Happy New Year! It is always a pleasure to address you as members of the Executive Board. My colleagues and I extend a warm welcome to you, Ambassador Jean-Marie Ehouzou of Benin, as the new President, and to the other members of the new Bureau and pledge our continued cooperation. And we thank Ambassador Carsten Staur of Denmark and his Vice-Presidents, Madame Fernande Afiavi Houngbedji and Messieurs José Briz Gutiérrez, Mahmudul Karim and Andriy Nikitov, for their excellent leadership over the past very busy year.
more..
UNFPA Assists Kenyans Displaced by Post-Election Violence
UNITED NATIONS, New York, 18 January 2008 – UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, is providing urgently needed medical equipment and supplies to the thousands of people displaced by political violence in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi as well as affected areas in other parts of the country, including Nakuru, Eldoret, Kisumu and Mombasa. The disputed presidential elections in late December has led to riots that killed hundreds and displaced hundreds of thousands, many of whom are still unable to return to their homes because of the ongoing political tension.
more..
Tackling the Taboo Topic of Teen Pregnancy in Ghana
HO, Ghana, 17 January 2008 — For Christiane and Yannick Milev, tackling teen pregnancy is a family affair. Together the mother-and-son team run Village Exchange Ghana, a rural, community-based NGO offering support to young mothers and other youth in Ghana’s rural Volta region.
more..
Largest Number of Donors Ever Set Fund-Raising Record for UNFPA
UNITED NATIONS, New York, 14 January 2008 — 2007 was another record year for UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, in terms of the financial support it has received from the international community. A total of 181 United Nations Member States contributed US$419 million to UNFPA’s regular resources—representing the highest number of donor nations and the largest amount of contributions to the Fund since it began operations in 1969.
more..
|
|
|
