Statements and speeches
Statement
In Celebration of Mothers
10 May 2026
Statement by UNFPA Executive Director Diene Keita As dozens of countries around the world – from Peru to Japan – mark Mother’s Day this month, these moments invite us to honour and celebrate the…
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One million more midwives, four million lives saved
01 May 2026
One million: That’s how many more midwives the world needs by 2035 to save over 4 million lives every year. Midwives are essential health workers, and they offer a solution to one of the most urgent challenges in global health: preventing women and newborns from dying needlessly from complications of pregnancy and childbirth.
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Closing Statement by UNFPA Executive Director Ms. Diene Keita at the 59th Session of the Commission on Population and Development
20 April 2026
The challenges we face today and the issues we discussed this week – technological transformation, demographic shifts, climate change and more – do not respect borders. Our fates are intertwined. Our responses must be, too.
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Opening Statement by UNFPA Executive Director Ms. Diene Keita at the Commission on Population and Development (CPD 59)
17 April 2026
At a time of profound global transformation, this Commission remains indispensable. It is the only global forum where population, human rights and sustainable development converge—anchored in the enduring vision of the Cairo Programme of Action.
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Three Years of conflict in Sudan, Statement by UNFPA Executive Director Diene Keita
15 April 2026
Today marks three years of conflict in Sudan. Three years on, women and girls in Sudan continue to pay an unbearable price.
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Standing with science for progress and empowerment
07 April 2026
Today, on World Health Day, UNFPA joins the international community in standing with science for a healthier future.
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Statement by Ms. Diene Keita, Executive Director, UNFPA on the impact of the escalating conflict in the Middle East
19 March 2026
The escalating war in the Middle East is shattering the lives of women and children across the region, with pregnant women and new mothers among the most vulnerable and people displaced and cut off from lifesaving health and protection services and supplies.
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UNFPA Statement on Declaration of Level 2 Emergency in the Middle East
17 March 2026
As attacks across the Middle East continue, causing death and destruction and forcing millions from their homes, hundreds of thousands of women and girls are cut off from lifesaving healthcare and protection services. In light of this UNFPA has activated a Level 2 emergency response covering Iraq, Lebanon and Syria to address rapidly growing needs across the region.
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Remarks by Ms. Diene Keita, UNFPA Executive Director at the CSW70 Side Event: Launch of the Core Principles for Meaningful Youth Participation in Intergovernmental Processes and UN Work
16 March 2026
What better time to launch the Core Principles for Meaningful Youth Participation than here at the 70th session of the Commission on the Status of Women, as we focus on closing the justice gap for all women and girls? Because there can be no justice without meaningful, equitable participation.
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Statement by Diene Keita, Executive Director, UNFPA, on the fourth anniversary of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine
24 February 2026
Four years of relentless bombing, displacement, family separation and economic uncertainty take their toll on women, girls and young people.
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UNFPA Statement on the Escalating Crisis for Women and Girls in South Sudan
14 February 2026
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is deeply alarmed by the escalation of violence in Jonglei State, South Sudan, and the grave impact it is having on women and girls.
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Over four million girls still at risk of female genital mutilation: UN leaders call for sustained commitment and investment to end FGM
06 February 2026
Joint Statement by the UNFPA Executive Director, UNICEF Executive Director, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN Women Executive Director, WHO Director-General, and UNESCO Director-General on…
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