Biography

Over the years, Her Majesty Queen Mother Gyalyum Sangay Choden Wangchuck of Bhutan has actively promoted social causes in her country, including health, education and family issues. She has been a UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador since 1999. 

As a UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador, she has played a key role in advocating for improved health services, including sexual and reproductive health, and the prevention of HIV/AIDS and gender-based violence. She has also frequently visited citizens across the country to raise awareness about health issues, including maternal health, sexual and reproductive health and HIV/AIDS. 

In 2019, UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem presented Her Majesty Sangay Choden with an award celebrating twenty years as a UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador, and commending her for her outstanding achievements in advancing sexual and reproductive rights throughout Bhutan. In 2020, she was announced as the individual laureate for the 2020 annual United Nations Population Award.

Biography

Catarina Furtado is one of Portugal’s best-loved television personalities and celebrities.

She was appointed UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador in 2000, and in 2010 Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed her as a Millennium Development Goal Champion.

As a filmmaker and UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador, she has traveled to Cape Verde, East Timor, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Mozambique, São Tomé and Príncipe and South Sudan. Since 2006, her television documentary series, Príncipes do Nada, has introduced audiences to issues related to maternal health, sexual and reproductive health, adolescent pregnancy, gender-based violence, human rights and development.

As a UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador, she has spoken about UNFPA’s mandate to parliaments, universities, schools, young people and NGOs. She has also served as a moderator and host at multiple UN panel discussions and events.

In 2015, Ms Furtado published O Que Vejo e Não Esqueço (What I See and Do Not Forget), a book based on her experience as an activist and UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador.

Biography

Acclaimed humanitarian, writer and actor Ashley Judd is fiercely committed to social justice. In particular, she believes that the sexual and reproductive health of girls and women, including choosing if, when and how many children to have, is at the heart of poverty eradication and sustainable development. She is a passionate advocate for the right of every girl and boy to enter adulthood safely and empowered, and to ending all forms of gender-based violence, including in the United States. 

At present, she sits on the Leadership Council at the International Center for Research on Women. She is a Global Ambassador for both Population Services International and Polaris Project, and serves on the advisory boards for Demand Abolition and Apne Aap Worldwide. Additionally, Ms. Judd works with countless other NGO and CBO’s that focus on the legal, economic, social, cultural, educational, health and financial empowerment of the poorest of the poor.

She has traveled around the world, visiting slums, brothels, schools, hospices, drop-in centers and clinics in Southeast Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa and Central America. As well as being a best-selling author and film-maker, she is a proud American and citizen of the world who is committed to doing her part to help the global family progress toward wellness and peace. 

Her partnership with UNFPA is her first appointment as a Goodwill Ambassador for a United Nations organization.

Biography

In her role as Patron of UNFPA, she has visited UNFPA programmes in 14 countries across Africa, Latin America, the Arab States, and Asia and the Pacific.

The Queen has, for many years, focused on being a voice for those who are marginalized in our society, promoting equality and the rights of girls and women, and on supporting sustainability efforts and nature conservation.

The Queen founded the Mary Foundation in 2007, with the mission of fighting social isolation based on the belief that “everyone has the right to belong”.