Women have a right to make their own decisions about whether, when and how often to become pregnant. That right was reaffirmed in 1994 in Cairo at the landmark International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), where 179 governments agreed that sexual and reproductive health is the foundation for sustainable development

WHO, UNAIDS and UNFPA welcome the results  of a large clinical research study known as the Evidence for Contraceptive Options and HIV Outcomes (ECHO) study that was conducted in four African countries and published in the Lancet today. The study compared the risk of HIV acquisition among women randomized to three highly-effective reversible contraceptive methods.

We, the Heads of UNICEF, UN WOMEN, UNDP and UNFPA, representing over 37,000 UN staff members under the United Nations Common System, are committed to strong gender-responsive, family-friendly policies for all United Nations staff.

Human rights are inherent to all human beings, and every person, without distinction, is entitled to a life free from violence, persecution, discrimination and stigma.

Shame, isolation and segregation are among the indignities faced by the hundreds of thousands of women and girls worldwide who suffer from obstetric fistula, an injury of the birth canal after prolonged and obstructed labour.

Midwives are public health heroes, ensuring that a woman can have a healthy pregnancy, safe childbirth and essential care for her newborn – among the most basic human rights.

UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, is deeply saddened and horrified by the senseless killing of worshipers at two mosques in the city of Christchurch in New Zealand.

Mary Oloiparuni was 13 when she was mutilated. Restrained in a doorway early one morning in her home, she was cut, bled profusely and experienced agonizing pain. The scarring she endured then continues to cause her pain today, 19 years later. It has made giving birth to each of her five children an excruciating and harrowing experience.

Statement by UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem on Human Rights Day 2018

More than 1 billion people live with a disability, and nearly 200 million are between the ages of 10 and 24. Yet young people with disabilities are often invisible in statistics, excluded from education and health services, and discriminated against in their own communities.