On Monday 11 March 2024, Suzanne Manning (President of NCWNZ) and Mathilde Le Goff (Board administrator intern) attended a roundtable discussion with Dr Natalia Kanem, Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and United Nations Under-Secretary-General.
UNFPA is the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency. Their mission is to deliver a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person's potential is fulfilled. They work with partners in more than 150 countries to provide access to a wide range of sexual and reproductive health services. The goal of this agency is therefore to end unmet need for family planning, preventable maternal death and gender-based violence and harmful practices including child marriages and female genital mutilation by 2030.
Dr Natalia Kanem, the executive director of this agency, graduated from several degrees in History and Sciences, Medicine and Public Health in Epidemiology and did her studies in the United States. She began her career at the Johns Hopkins and Columbia University Schools of Medicine and Public Health. Before joining the United Nations, she had many responsibilities and positions in Africa, all related to child’s protection and women’s reproductive health and sexuality. She has an amazing background of strategic leadership and management in the fields of medicine, public health, international peace and development, human rights, and social justice.
This meeting was the occasion to discuss different issues - sexual and reproductive rights, maternal mortality, abortion rights, the right to choose to have OR not have children, and what could be done to protect women and girls regarding those issues.
The meeting, which took place in a small group of around 15 people, provided an opportunity for constructive and valuable exchanges, as well as networking with very inspiring people. It's always super encouraging to see that in such important international organisations as the United Nations, there are competent people who know exactly what they're talking about. It's also very pleasing that they take the time to come and exchange with the various national stakeholders and share their experiences and points of view.
We would like to thank again the United Nations Association for this invitation, and Dr Natalia Kanem for her time, her expertise and for everything she does for women’s and children’s rights.
To read more articles from The Circular (March-April 2024) issue 646, click on the tag below.