The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has said that, going forward, it will focus more on measures to tackle Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and maternal deaths in the Lake Chad region.
Dr Sennen Hounton, the UNFPA’s Regional Director for West and Central Africa, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) at the 5th edition of the Lake Chad Basin Governors’ Forum in Maiduguri that UNFPA’s intervention for Lake Chad’s sustainability is paramount..
Hounton, who spoke through his representative, Mr Alain Akpadji, the Resident Representative for UNFPA in Burkina Faso, said, “The region continues to grapple with high fertility rates, early and forced marriages, adolescent pregnancies, and fragile health systems, making UNFPA’s interventions vital for sustainable development and human rights.”
The UNFPA envoy said his agency is working toward expanding women’s access to quality maternal healthcare by strengthening antenatal, childbirth and postnatal services to ensure the safety of pregnancy and other complications.
Hounton said to achieve this, the agency has decided to focus on training midwives; nurses and other healthcare workers in underserved communities within the region.
In addition to that, the envoy also announced that UNFPA has embarked on an advocacy campaign for Universal Health Coverage that would guarantee women’s access to life-saving maternal health services.
Hounton, however, expressed happiness that the rate of maternal mortality has dropped sharply in many countries via improved access to quality maternal healthcare services.
On GBV related issues, the envoy said the agency’s campaign against the menace has started yielding results with many countries coming up with stronger legal backing protecting women and girls whose rights had been abused.
Hounton said UNFPA’s new approach would also address the “Key challenges such as maternal mortality, unmet needs for family planning GBV and the vulnerability of women and girls in humanitarian crises,” adding that UNFPA’s interventions would further contribute to achieving the Lake Chad Basin Commission’s trategic plans for ensuring the region’s stabilisation.
