Updates

By: Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin; originally posted in The Huffington Post

My mother, Morenike Osotimehin, was a remarkable woman. A great entrepreneur, and an excellent wife to my father, who was a schoolteacher, she managed her own small business, sourcing fruits, and gave birth to eight children: four boys and four girls.

She was born in 1924, she was strong -- and she was an inspiration. Every day was a balancing act between work and the requirements of a big family. She understood that each one of us must live a productive life and contribute to society, and she insisted that we go to school, work hard and do our very best. But she also had a soft spot for those not doing so well. Apart from her own children, my mother regularly took in cousins and nephews who needed help. Sometimes there were as many as 15 of us in our home. Read more...

By: Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, Executive Director of UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund; Originally posted on Huffington Post

As the father of four daughters and as the Executive Director for UNFPA, a leading UN agency working on maternal health, it warms my heart to see that safe motherhood and women's reproductive health are finally being recognized as important development issues.

Sadly, millions of women in developing countries still lack even the most basic care during pregnancy and too often have no one to assist during births. As a result, 1,000 women die every day from complications in pregnancy or childbirth, and countless others suffer debilitating injuries, such as obstetric fistula. Moreover, 215 million women still lack access to modern contraceptives and are, therefore, unable to make fundamental decisions about whether or when to become pregnant. Read more...

Originally posted by UNFPA; Schools for Husbands and Real Men Never Hit Women are winners of the Women Deliver 50.

Two UNFPA-supported projects dealing with men have been voted as among the 'Women Deliver 50' most inspiring ideas or solutions in terms of delivering for women. The competition, organized by Women Deliver in conjunction with International Women's Day, celebrates the progress made on behalf of girls and women worldwide.

The Schools for Husbands, launched by UNFPA in Niger, educates married men on reproductive health in order to improve access to maternal and newborn health services. The schools, which are endorsed by official authorities, traditional leaders, and religious leaders, bring together well-respected men in the community, twice a month, to discuss specific concerns centered on reproductive health. Read more...

By: Smita Gaith, Communications and Program Intern

Intel Corporation and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) have recently announced their partnership to increase skills and knowledge of health workers around the world. The joint endeavor is part of Intel’s efforts to maintain and build on its commitment to the United Nations’ Every Woman, Every Child initiative, which is focused on training 1 million community health workers by 2015. Read more...