UNITED NATIONS, New York - A major initiative by the World Bank Group and UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, will enable countries in the Sahel region to better invest in the well-being of their women and young people, particularly girls, so that they would become powerful engines for development.
The $200 million Sahel Women’s Empowerment and Demographics Project, to be implemented in partnership with UNFPA, will improve access to reproductive health supplies and services, strengthen the work force of midwives and nurses, and support adolescent girls’ initiatives. The project is initially for six countries: Burkina Faso, Chad, Cote d’Ivoire, Mali, Mauritania and Niger.
During the just-opened regular session of the United Nations General Assembly, presidents from the Sahel region and leaders of global institutions will convene to galvanize commitments to speed up the demographic transition and reap the potential contributions of the Sahel young people, in addition to mobilizing regional and global partnerships to support the region.
WHAT: High-Level event and press briefing on realizing the demographic dividend in the Sahel
WHO:
President of Chad Idriss Déby, President of Côte d’Ivoire Alassane Ouattara, and President of Niger Mahamadou Issoufou; Melinda Gates; UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin; and World Bank Vice-President Makhtar Diop will take part in an interactive discussion on commitments made through a unique partnership, including the World Bank, UNFPA and Sahel countries themselves, to enable these countries to reap the benefit of investing in their young people.
WHERE: Conference Room 6, United Nations, New York
WHEN:
Monday, 22 September 2014
- Meeting: 9 - 10:30 a.m.
- Press Briefing: 10:30 – 11a.m.
For more information, or to set up interviews with participants, please contact:
Mandy Kibel: +1 212 297 5293, mobile: +1 917 310 8219; kibel@unfpa.org
Anne-Isabelle Leclercq: +1 212 297 5014; +1 347 570 2167; leclercq@unfpa.org
Eddie Wright: +1 212 297 2717, mobile: +1 917 831 2074; ewright@unfpa.org