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28 August 2008
TBILISI, Georgia— With their houses burned and bulldozed, and their families torn and splintered, many mothers and their children here are still in a state of shock. “We fled out of the village and took a high road to get out,” said Nina, a mother living in the Tskhinvali region where political tensions arose in early August. “But I wish we had not left this way because we could see the lower road being bombed, and fleeing civilians being killed in their cars,” she explained.
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South Africa: One-Stop Post-Rape Care
TEMBISA, South Africa – Buyisiwe, 29, slumps on a green couch in her father’s sitting room in a run-down neighbourhood in Tembisa, a sprawling township north of Johannesburg. Her eyes stare blankly at a wall. Her face is fixed between a sigh and a smile; her occasional laughter sounds incongruous with the pain that seems to well up inside her.
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International Youth Day
On International Youth Day, let us recognize the potential of youth in tackling the greatest challenges of our times.
From eliminating extreme poverty to halting the spread of HIV, young people are a dynamic force for positive change. They can contribute to the world’s efforts to overcome the threat of climate change, one of the defining challenges of our time.
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Documentary Explores Preference for Sons in India
Some 700 thousand girls a year are estimated to be ‘missing’ in India as a result of illegal sex determination and consequent elimination.
What is behind this drive to have boy children – which is expected to have sweeping demographic consequences in the years ahead for India and a few other Asian countries?
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Dancing for Life in Mexico City
INTERNATIONAL AIDS CONFERENCE, Mexico — It’s not a musical – it’s real life. But suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, dozens of young people on busy street corner break into song and dance.
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Gender-based Violence, Both Cause and Consequence of HIV and AIDS
INTERNATIONAL AIDS CONFERENCE, Mexico City—Thoraya Ahmed Obaid and Inés Alberdi, Executive Directors of UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, and of the United Nations Development Fund for Women, respectively, co-chaired a session Sunday on the links between gender-based violence and HIV-AIDS. Ms. Obaid told participants that gender-based violence can be both the cause and consequence of HIV and AIDS.
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Women's Participation is Key to Preventing HIV
INTERNATIONAL AIDS CONFERENCE, Mexico City—Women’s participation in decision-making is crucial to a more effective response to HIV and AIDS. Women living with HIV in particular, must be involved in establishing prevention policies, said Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, Executive Director of UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, at a the Fifth Meeting of the Coalition of First Ladies and Women Leaders in Latin America on Women and AIDS.
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Education: A 'Social Vaccine' to Prevent the Spread of HIV
INTERNATIONAL AIDS CONFERENCE, Mexico City —In the absence of medical vaccine to prevent HIV, we have to use sexuality education as a ‘social vaccine’, Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, Executive Director of UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, said Friday. She was participating in the first-ever meeting of Latin American and Caribbean ministers of health and education to discuss prevention of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
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UNAIDS Report Shows that Concerted Efforts are Making a Difference, but More Progress is Needed
UNITED NATIONS, New York – The 2008 Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic has more positive news than any prior reports, Dr. Peter Piot, Executive Director of the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS told a press conference today.
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Goodwill Ambassador Catarina Furtado Lays the Foundation for Improved Maternal Health in Guinea-Bissau
GABU, Guinea-Bissau --- Dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, one of Portugal’s best-known actresses and television personalities laid the first brick for the construction of a maternity surgical unit in this dusty town in eastern Guinea-Bissau.
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IFRC and UNFPA Extend Collaboration in Humanitarian Crises
UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) have agreed to extend their collaboration in health promotion programmes around the world.
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Embracing the Challenge of Good Data Collection in Post-Conflict Liberia
LOFA, Liberia — Dr. Geetor Saydee’s legs were tired, his brow drenched in sweat. He’d been walking for several hours through the dusty streets of Lofa, a county in Liberia’s northern region, to assess the status of the public healthcare system in the wake of the country’s 14-year civil war. But he trudged on, knowing how much was at stake.
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Mid-Year Review of the Consolidated Appeal Process
It is an honour for me and UNFPA to be with you for the launch of the Mid-Year Review of the Consolidated Appeals Process (CAP) for 2008. As we meet, millions of people around the world are suffering the tragic consequences of armed conflict and natural disasters. Many live in constant fear of confronting more devastation in their distressed lives.
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Statement on the Occasion of World Population Day 2008
Today as we commemorate World Population Day, let us renew our commitment to human dignity and the right to live in freedom from fear and want. Let us accelerate efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals to eliminate extreme poverty and hunger and to improve the health of people and our planet.
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Myanmar Recovery Must Ensure Women's Health and Protection, UNFPA Says
UNITED NATIONS, New York, 10 July 2008 — Life-saving care for women remains a critical need as Myanmar recovers from Cyclone Nargis, UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, stressed today as agencies jointly asked for donor support.
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G-8 Commitment to Maternal and Reproductive Health is a Welcome Boost to Poor Women Worldwide, Says UNFPA
UNITED NATIONS, New York, 9 July 2007 — UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, today welcomed the renewed endorsement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by the Group of Eight (G-8), and particularly their commitment to maternal and reproductive health as means to achieving these goals.
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Mobile Clinics Bring Life-saving Care to Myanmar Women
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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).
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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.
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$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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Midwives: 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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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?
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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.
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