Statements & speeches
Speech
Statement by Ms. Diene Keita Acting Executive Director, UNFPA at the Second Regular Session of the Executive Board of UNDP, UNFPA and UNOPS
26 August 2025
I thank the Board for your support and guidance and for the extensive consultations that have resulted in the UNFPA Strategic Plan 2026-2029 and associated Integrated Budget before you this session.
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Gaza Famine a Catastrophe for Mothers and Infants
22 August 2025
In Gaza today, famine is no longer a dark threat – it has set in. For pregnant and breastfeeding women and their newborns, it is a possible death sentence.
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As health and aid workers face record attacks, leaders must act
14 August 2025
Humanitarian action has never been more important, nor more imperiled. Needs are overwhelming, humanitarian response woefully underfunded, and aid workers and vital infrastructure increasingly under attack.
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Diene Keita Designated Acting Executive Director of UNFPA
16 July 2025
Effective 16 July 2025, the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has designated Ms. Diene Keita as Acting Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
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Joint statement by OCHA, UNDP, UNFPA, UNOPS, UNRWA, WFP and WHO on fuel shortage in Gaza
12 July 2025
New York/ Geneva/ Rome/ Gaza, July 12, 2025 - The United Nations warns that the fuel shortage in Gaza has reached critical levels.
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Statement by Dr. Natalia Kanem, Executive Director, UNFPA Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4) , Seville, Spain 2025
03 July 2025
Seville, Spain | 30 June – 3 July 2025 Excellencies, dear colleagues and friends, I greet you in peace – the noble purpose of the United Nations and the fervent wish of every woman and girl…
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Investing in Adolescents: Unlocking Economic Growth through Innovative Financing in Latin America and the Caribbean
02 July 2025
Remarks by UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem at the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development
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Create choices, not barriers, for young people to thrive
02 July 2025
Our human population is the subject of growing interest – and intensifying anxiety. The concerns that draw most attention are declining fertility rates, ageing and workforce shortages, while many still argue that the greatest threat to the planet is overpopulation. The real fertility crisis, however, is lack of reproductive agency. Young people are too often unable to create the families they want, while at the same time being blamed for low fertility rates and saddled with the expectation of resolving them.
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Ending sexual violence in conflict: breaking the cycle, healing the scars and building a world of peace
18 June 2025
Statement by UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem on the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict (19 June) In nearly every conflict in every region of the…
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Statement by Dr. Natalia Kanem Executive Director, UNFPA at the Annual Session of the Executive Board of UNDP, UNFPA and UNOPS
03 June 2025
Good morning. Buenos dias. Here’s a video prepared as part of UNFPA’s campaign urging all of us to ‘keep the lights on’ for women and girls in the most desperate humanitarian circumstances.
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UNFPA Statement: Don't Let the Lights Go Out on Women and Girls in Neglected Crises
19 May 2025
In a world marked by protracted conflicts and accelerating climate change, humanitarian needs have soared in recent years, yet, the funding to match them has not. Now the humanitarian sector is…
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Statement in response to the United States decision to deny future funding to UNFPA
09 May 2025
UNFPA, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency, notes with deep regret that the United States of America has announced its intention to deny future funding to the organization by triggering the Kemp-Kasten Amendment.
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