Monday, October 21, 2019

Top UN official applauds Nepal’s efforts for reproductive health, women empowerment

UN under secretary general and director general of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Dr Natalia Kanem hailed the efforts made by Nepal in the sector of safe motherhood, reproductive health, family planning, and women empowerment.
“I appreciate policies introduced and investments made in this connection,” Kanem, who is on her two-day visit to Nepal told a press conference held in Kathmandu today. “This has helped bring impactful improvements among the life of Nepali women and girls, however, a lot has yet to be done in the sector,” she said, adding that she was convinced that inclusive provisions incorporated in the Nepali constitution and laws would help in rapid growth in all the sectors.
She – during the press conference organised at UN House at Pulchowk in Lalitpur today – vowed to intensify the support in safe motherhood, reproductive health, family planning, and women violence sector. However, she didn’t disclose the nature of the aid.
The UNFPA has been regularly helping Nepal for safe motherhood, reproductive health, family planning and women violence since 1971.
“As we are observing 50th anniversary of UNFA and 25th of International Conference for Population and Development (ICPD), we are planning to launch new programmes regarding safe motherhood and family planning acknowledging the achievements we have made so far," she added.
ICPD – introduced in 1994 in Cairo of Egypt – has been approved by 179 countries including Nepal. It has now transformed its agenda to match the long-term vision of the Millennium Development Goal (MDG).
“It was my honour to meet with senior government officials including the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Health, as well as the key stakeholders and partners during this trip,” she said, expressing her belief that Nepal could and would play an instrumental role at the Nairobi Summit, which marks the 25th anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo.

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