Nicholas Hill
Acting ECOSOC Representative
New York, NY
August 31, 2021
AS DELIVERED
The United States commends UNFPA for the development of this Strategic Plan which recognizes that achieving universal access to sexual and reproductive health and rights is essential and life-saving. This plan propels the organization forward at a crucial moment where global efforts must scale up and accelerate to achieve key targets of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals Agenda.
As the effects of COVID-19 continue to impact women and girls, UNFPA’s role in fulfilling the promise of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) Programme of Action has become even more pressing. Women and girls face a disproportionate burden from COVID, and we must recommit as a global community to championing and prioritizing the sexual and reproductive health and rights of women and girls during this pandemic.
We commend the commitment and resilience of UNFPA staff as the agency continues to work in close partnership with governments and key stakeholders, including civil society. UNFPA’s work with such partners ensures the continuity of services, supports the protection of the health workforce, and secures the supply of commodities, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The United States applauds UNFPA’s continued focus on family planning in the Strategic Plan and advocacy for its integration in universal health coverage. Leveraging the global commitment on access to contraception is an investment that better enables communities to reach critical goals around women’s education and economic empowerment and maternal and child health, and plays an important role in ending preventable maternal mortality.
The United States welcomes the significant opportunity presented by the Strategic Plan to advance UNFPA’s humanitarian action and expand its humanitarian response, including in positioning UNFPA as the lead Gender Based Violence (GBV) coordinating agency and as a Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) champion. We also recognize how essential UNFPA’s supplies and services in humanitarian settings are for protecting those most vulnerable in crisis situations.
In closing, the United States looks forward to our continued collaboration with UNFPA and to strong partnership during the implementation of the next Strategic Plan.
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