Statements and speeches
Statement
UNFPA Condemns Brutal Attack on Courageous Pakistani Girls
11 October 2012
<p> UNFPA,condemns the brutal attack on Malala Yousafzai and two other Pakistani girls who spoke out for the rights of girls to receive an education.</p>
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Every Woman, Every Child
28 September 2012
In this op-ed, published by The Guardian, Nigeria, UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin calls for continued support of the Every Woman, Every Child initiative, a global movement spearheaded by UN to save and improve the lives of millions of women and children by 2015 and discusses the role of life-saving supplies in this effort.
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International Youth Day
12 August 2012
<p>Today, we celebrate the world's 1.8 billion young people. And we pause to consider that 43 per cent of the world's population is under the age of 25—a figure that rises to 60 per cent in the least developed countries.</p>
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Message on the Occasion of the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples
09 August 2012
<p>Today, on this commemoration of the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, UNFPA pays tribute to all our indigenous sisters and brothers. We renew our commitment to empower indigenous women and adolescent girls around the world to reclaim their human rights, especially those dealing with the most intimate aspects of their lives.</p>
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Millions to Benefit from Family Planning Pledges
07 August 2012
This op-ed by UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin andSharon L. Camp, PhD., President and CEO of the Guttmacher Institute was published in The Standard (Kenya).
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Sustainability in a World of 9 Billion people: It’s All About Choices
17 June 2012
The world’s population surpassed 7 billion last October and is expected to grow to 9 billion by the middle of this century. The paramount challenge of sustainability is to meet the needs of 7 billion consumers now—and the billions more to come—while protecting the intricate balance of nature that sustains life. Demands for water, trees, food and fossil fuels will only increase as world population grows.
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Family Planning Summit Could Mark Turning Point for Maternal Health
07 June 2012
This editorial by UNFPA Executive Director Babatunde Osotimehin, which talks about the upcoming family planning summit and the need to expand access to family planning worldwide, was published in the Poverty Matters Blog of the Guardian.
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My Mother: A Remarkable Woman
10 May 2012
In this opinion piece written on the occasion of Mothers' Day, UNFPA Executive Director Babatunde Osotimehin talks about how his own remarkable mother shaped his attitudes toward women, human rights and empowerment."She would say that Providence has put me here to accomplish an important mission in the world," he writes.
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Remembering and Honoring Our Mothers
10 May 2012
The following tribute to his mother, and women in general, was written for the Huffington Post by UNFPA Executive Director Babatunde Osotimehin on the occasion of Mothers' Day. He says, "My mother had a strong sense of self. She believed that as a woman she had rights, and she knew that women had to be empowered if lives were to be saved and if families and communities were to thrive. "
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Investing in Midwifery Pays
05 May 2012
<p>Urgent action is needed to achieve the Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5 on child and maternal health before the target year of 2015, and investing in human resources for health, especially midwifery, is one the soundest investments a country can make to accelerate progress, state UNFPA Executive Director, Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, and ICM Secretary-General, Agneta S. Bridges, on the International Day of Midwife.</p>
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Pledging Support to Young People
23 April 2012
<p> </p> <p>"<span>We are committed to ensuring that youth perspectives are included in global plans to reduce poverty and open the way to a sustainable future," stated UNFPA Executive Director, Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, at the 45th Commission on Population and Development.</span> </p>
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People Are the Heart of Sustainable Development
19 April 2012
<p> <span>"People are the central concern of sustainable development and efforts to promote more sustainable development pathways must take account of people – their numbers, location and age structures, as well as their living conditions, ambitions and opportunities," stated Anne-Birgitte Albrectsen, Deputy Executive Director of UNFPA, at briefing event "The road to Rio goes through Cairo: why population issues matter for sustainable development" in New York.</span> </p>
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