OP-ED: The Nexus Between Women and Development

Every three years since 2007, a global advocacy organisation called Women Deliver has convened an international conference to talk about issues relating to the health and well-being of girls and women. UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, has been privileged to participate in these conferences, and looks forward to joining multilateral organisations, NGOs and global leaders for the third Women Deliver conference in Kuala Lumpur this weekend. Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin. Credit: UNFPA Our focus this year will be on two issues that affect not just women and girls, but development in general, because research shows that voluntary family planning and maternal health are two key vectors for lifting developing nations out of poverty. We will unveil new initiatives for each and seek to galvanise the world community for both programmatic and financial support. UNFPA has promoted voluntary family planning since it began operations in 1969, and if we have learned anything in the decades since, it is that the ability of women to plan when and at what intervals they will have children is essential to national progress in everything from education to health to economic prosperity. Equally important, we have learned that family planning is about more than just condoms and other family planning commodities. It’s about human rights, information and education. At the Women Deliver conference, UNFPA will launch a new partnership with the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) ...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: Global & Universal Authors: Tags: Aid Civil Society Development & Aid Education Featured Gender Global Governance Headlines Health Human Rights Population Poverty & MDGs United Nations Women & Economy Women's Health World Babatunde Osotimehin Contraceptio Source Type: news