Dr. Osotimehin Embarks on First Mission to Programme Countries as UNFPA Executive Director

UNITED NATIONS, New York — Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, the new Executive Director of UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, will tomorrow start a three-country mission to Africa—his first visit to programme countries since he assumed his new position in January 2011.

Dr. Osotimehin will start his tour in Nigeria, where he is expected to pay a visit to the President and a number of government officials, including the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Finance, Women Affairs and Health. He is also scheduled to meet with key UNFPA partners, including the Chairperson of the National Population Commission and the President’s Special Assistant in charge of the Millennium Development Goals.

Dr. Osotimehin’s second stop will be Addis Ababa, where he is scheduled to participate in the 2011 joint Annual Meeting of the African Union Conference of Ministers of Economy and Finance and the Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, which starts on 24 March. The conference, under the theme Governing Development in Africa, will examine the role of the State in development, including in investing in education, health and infrastructure. The Executive Director is expected to urge the Ministers to make health an ongoing priority, with special attention to women and young people.

While in Ethiopia, Dr. Osotimehin is expected to meet with the country’s Prime Minister and other officials, as well as key UNFPA partners. He will also visit the Addis Ababa Tsotawi Tekat Centre, a UNFPA-supported shelter for survivors of gender-based violence.

The last stop of Dr. Osotimehin will be Kenya, where he is expected to attend meetings of UNAIDS Co-sponsoring Organizations and meet with a number of high-level Kenyan officials.