Ministry Statements & Speeches:
Thank you Mr President,
New Zealand appreciates the work of UNFPA in delivering such significant progress against the three zeroes for transformative results in the first half of the strategic plan period. UNFPA’s ability to quantify the impact of its procurement of reprodutive health supplies on both preventable maternal deaths and unintended pregnancies is impressive, as are the assessed returns on investments in family planning.
New Zealand values UNFPA’s critical role in supporting population data, a key enabler of good public policy and resource allocation, and in strengthening public health systems and capability. We note the intersection between countries most affected by climate change and those where women and girls are at greatest risk of maternal mortality, intimate partner violence and child marriage and pregnancy. This highlights the importance of UNFPA’s work to ensure that sexual and reproductive health needs are included in emergency preparedness and disaster risk reduction plans.
During the Executive Director’s recent visit to New Zealand, we particularly appreciated the opportunity to underline the deep value we attach to UNFPA’s normative mandate. This was a united message from New Zealand’s politicians, officials and civil society. We applaud the normative advances set out in the report, particularly around female genital mutilation, child early and forced marriage, and gender based violence, including violence committed by, or preventable through, technology. We recognise that it takes time to change minds, laws, policy and practice, and wish to underline our appreciation for the many UNFPA staff who devote years of effort to achieve normative outcomes that will improve the lives of hundreds, thousands or even millions of women and girls.
As we say in the Maori language, nā tō rourou, nā taku rourou ka ora ai te iwi – with your food basket and my food basket the people will thrive.
Thank you.