Tashkent, 13 December 2017 – UN Population Fund (UNFPA) organizes a press conference to launch UNFPA’s flagship annual report, State of the World Population 2017.
The Report is being produced annually by UNFPA for over ten years to advocate for a variety of issues related to population and development. The 2017 Report titled “Worlds Apart: Reproductive Health and Rights in an Age of Inequality” will be presented in Tashkent on 13 December. The report was also launched globally in more than 100 countries.
The costs of inequalities, including in reproductive health and rights, could extend to the entire global community’s goals, states the new UNFPA report.
Failure to provide reproductive health services, including family planning, to the most vulnerable women can weaken economies and sabotage progress towards the sustainable development goals.
Economic inequality reinforces and is reinforced by other inequalities, including those in women’s health, where only a privileged few are able to control their fertility, and, as a result, can develop skills, enter the paid labour force and gain economic power.
“Reproductive rights are one of the inalienable human rights. If all women, couples and young people are given the opportunity to exercise their rights, this in turn will reduce maternal mortality and improve the health of the mother, the newborn and, in general, our families” – stated Ms. Mieko Yabuta, UNFPA Representative in Uzbekistan, in her opening statement.
“The 2030 Agenda has “envisaged a better and more inclusive future, one where we collectively tear down the barriers and correct disparities, focusing first on those left furthest behind”, the report states.. “Reducing all inequalities needs to be the aim. In that respect, some of the most powerful contributions can come from realizing gender equality and women’s reproductive rights.”
UNFPA’s Worlds Apart report calls for actions that lead to a brighter future, where all women govern their own lives, have equal access to reproductive health care and have the knowledge, skills and power to find gainful employment.
Press-conference will gather UNFPA’s partners as well as representatives of mass media to go through the highlights of the Report and make emphasis on the fact that only together, we can reduce inequality, and achieve sustainable and inclusive economic growth, social development and environmental protection for the benefit of today's and future generations.
In Uzbekistan, UNFPA is proud to partner with the Government of Uzbekistan, which has embarked on implementing the Sustainable Development Goals and recent adopting the National Strategic Plan for 2017–2021 which underscores healthcare reform as a state priority and envisages improvement of women’s and maternal and child health through greater access to quality healthcare.
UNFPA stands ready to support partners in delivering the goals in Uzbekistan, especially through ensuring good reproductive health, access of people to reproductive health care services, improvement of the quality of maternal health services and promotion of healthy lifestyle among young people.
Global data:
· Only about half of the world’s women hold paid jobs
· Globally, women earn 77 per cent of what men get
· Three in five women worldwide lack maternity leave, many pay “motherhood penalty”
For the full SWOP 2017 Report and other resources, please visit: www.unfpa.org/swop
The related video news release is available at http://www.unmultimedia.org/tv/unifeed/
