22 May 2012 - Dispatch
UNITED NATIONS, New York -- While commending the work of a United Nations commission trying to improve access to life-saving medicines, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today said that much remains to be done to save the lives of the 800 women and more than 20,000 children who die every day from preventable causes. “Every two minutes, a woman dies at what should have been a joyful moment [childbirth].
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22 May 2012 - Press Release
UNITED NATIONS, New York—Affordable, life-saving medicines and health supplies with the potential to save millions of lives are not reaching the children and women who most need them.To help change this, members of the
United Nations Commission on Life-Saving Commodities for Women and Children will today review and finalize recommendations to help increase access, reduce costs, and increase demand for 13 products.
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21 May 2012 - Feature Story
ACCRA, Ghana --- Sixteen-year-old Sahada was pulled out of school when her family arranged a marriage for her. But it wasn’t what she wanted. “I wanted to remain in school and learn,” she said through a translator. “My family took me from school and told me it is time to be married.” In spite of her resistance, Sahada was kidnapped into marriage with a man from another village.
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18 May 2012 - In the News
UNFPA disclosed that its Philippine office raised $28.5 million in the year to date, and that the money will be used to promote reproductive and maternal health, one of the country’s Millennium Development Goals. “For the current seventh country programme, which started this year and will end in 2016, around $28.5 million has been mobilized and we are expecting more,” UNFPA country representative Ugochi Daniels told reporters in a press conference.
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17 May 2012 - Dispatch
ST. PETERSBURG -- UNFPA and the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of the Commonwealth of Independent States signed a cooperation agreement on advancing reproductive health and rights in the region.
The agreement was signed by Regional Director Thea Fierens on behalf of UNFPA and by the Chairman of the Federation Council Valentina Matvienko, on behalf of the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly. A former governor of Saint Petersburg, Ms. Matvienko is the first woman in the country’s history to hold what is considered to be the third most influential political tenure in the state.
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16 May 2012 - Press Release
UNITED NATIONS, New York – The number of women dying of pregnancy and childbirth related complications has almost halved in 20 years, according to new estimates released today by the World Health Organization, United Nations Children's Fund, UNFPA and the World Bank. "This shows that the enhanced effort of countries, supported by UNFPA and other development partners, is paying off. But we can’t stop here. Our work must continue to make every pregnancy wanted and every childbirth safe," said Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, Executive Director of UNFPA.
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16 May 2012 - Dispatch
BRAZZAVILLE, Republic of Congo --- On 2 March, a series of early morning explosions in the Mpila munitions reserve shattered a densely populated neighbourhood in this capital city. The blasts were catastrophic—over 286 people were reported dead, 3,000 were injured and 15,000 people instantly became homeless. The exact cause and circumstances of the explosions are still under investigation by a judicial inquiry.
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16 May 2012 - Press Release
BANGKOK—Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, Executive Director of UNFPA, and Dr. Paijit Warachit, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Public Health, met today to discuss Thailand’s progress and challenges in promoting better reproductive and sexual health, especially among adolescents and youth.
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