Gov'ts, NGOs continue upholding support for women's health, rights despite pandemic: UNFPA

Source: Xinhua| 2020-11-30 07:01:39|Editor: huaxia

UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- Governments and non-governmental organizations continue upholding support for women's and girls' health and rights despite the global COVID-19 pandemic, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) said in a press release published recently.

"As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to take a heavy toll on the health and economies of countries around the world, governments, non-governmental organizations, international financial institutions and the private sector are stepping up political, financial and in-kind support for programs that protect the health and rights of women and girls in developing countries," according to the press release.

A year ago, at the landmark Nairobi Summit of International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD25), the world came together to commit to ending preventable maternal death, the unmet need for contraception, and gender-based violence and harmful practices like child marriage and female genital mutilation, by 2030, it said.

At that summit, more than 8,000 delegates from 170 countries made 1,250 financial and other commitments in support of sexual and reproductive health and rights as envisioned by the landmark Programme of Action that emerged from the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo, it added.

This included 26 governments from across Asia and the Pacific, along with civil society representatives and the private sector, in making 152 commitments toward accelerating ICPD in the region, building upon the considerable progress already achieved and addressing the significant gaps that still remain.

Today, UNFPA, the UN sexual and reproductive health agency, reports that major donor governments are already substantially delivering on the amounts they pledged in Nairobi. And some are even surpassing what they promised, demonstrating their steadfast commitment to the rights of women and girls at the time it is most needed.

"The commitments made in Nairobi are more critical now than ever before. Far from dampening our ambition, COVID-19 has only sharpened our focus and resolve," said UNFPA Executive Director Natalia Kanem. "I am heartened to see so many government, private sector and civil society partners take bold steps to sustain our collective efforts and deliver on our promises to women and girls. As long as we stand together, we will prevail."

In September, UNFPA established a high-level commission to ensure all the commitments made at the summit stay on track, even during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chaired by Jakaya Kikwete, former president of the United Republic of Tanzania, and Michaelle Jean, former governor general of Canada, the commission will make recommendations so that the momentum created in Nairobi continues toward a world of rights and choices for all, according to the press release.

"We will never lose sight of the world we are fighting for -- one of sexual and reproductive health and rights for all," Kanem noted.

The International Conference on Population and Development held in Cairo in 1994 put individual rights and choices at the heart of sustainable development - with an emphasis on sexual and reproductive health and rights for all, and women and girls in particular. Grounded in gender equality and human rights, the ICPD Programme of Action has guided the work of UNFPA in over 150 countries, including 36 countries in Asia and the Pacific through 22 country offices across the region and a Pacific Sub-Regional Office.

UNFPA, formerly the United Nations Fund for Population Activities, works in over 150 countries toward a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person's potential is fulfilled. Enditem

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