UN Population Fund Archives

With Trump’s Human-Rights Policies, Religious ‘Values’ Take Priority

June 18, 2018June 7, 2018 by Barbara Crossette

Cubans waiting to be served food during the country's annual celebration of its revolution.

For almost three centuries, through street protests, court battles and a civil war, the United States has sporadically but steadily advanced and expanded human-rights protections and commitments in domestic and foreign policies. Now Donald Trump and the most conservative, ideologically driven officials on his team want to turn back this record in fundamental ways, as … Read more With Trump’s Human-Rights Policies, Religious ‘Values’ Take Priority

Trump Team Wants to Slash Funds for Global Women’s Health by Half

March 1, 2018February 18, 2018 by Barbara Crossette

There has yet to be a decision in United States Congress on what funds for global women’s health, if any, will survive in the current 2018 national budget, a decision that is nearly six months overdue. But Donald Trump and his vice president, Mike Pence, a hard-line social conservative who is playing a larger role … Read more Trump Team Wants to Slash Funds for Global Women’s Health by Half

Babatunde Osotimehin, UNFPA Head Since 2011, Dies Suddenly at 68

June 5, 2017 by Barbara Crossette

The death on June 4 of Babatunde Osotimehin, executive director of the United Nations Population Fund, UNFPA, and a Nigerian, was not only a personal tragedy and a shock to the staff of the fund but also another blow for an agency that had recently lost all its United States financial support. Osotimehin, a physician, … Read more Babatunde Osotimehin, UNFPA Head Since 2011, Dies Suddenly at 68

US Republicans Extend Global Gag Rules, and Asia’s E-Trash Piles Up

March 2, 2017February 14, 2017 by Barbara Crossette

In this third installment of an occasional series on research and data useful to readers, PassBlue takes a look at financial threats to a United Nations agency focused on family planning and how e-waste in Asia is hurting the regional environment and public health. With the fate of funding for the United Nations Population Fund, … Read more US Republicans Extend Global Gag Rules, and Asia’s E-Trash Piles Up

Educators on the UN Denounce Trump’s Crackdown on Refugees

February 12, 2017January 28, 2017 by Irwin Arieff

More than 700 educators and students, meeting at United Nations headquarters in New York recently, called on the international community to protect refugees’ lives, encourage countries to take in “large numbers of refugees and migrants” and do more to ensure they get an education and are protected from sexual and gender-based violence. Acting as President … Read more Educators on the UN Denounce Trump’s Crackdown on Refugees

In a Single Day, US Congress Castigates Both the UN and Obama Over Israeli Vote

January 21, 2017January 6, 2017 by Barbara Crossette

While Washington is caught up in the unfolding drama about the extent and motives of Russian hacking and possible attempted manipulation of the 2016 American presidential election, another story is playing out around threats to “punish” the United Nations. On Jan.5, the United States House of Representatives voted to repudiate the Security Council resolution on … Read more In a Single Day, US Congress Castigates Both the UN and Obama Over Israeli Vote

In Russia, Men Die Young, Leaving Women With Bad Choices

October 31, 2016October 15, 2016 by Svetlana Shkolnikova

For every girl born in Russia today, so are 1.06 boys. The gender ratio at birth is consistent with the international average of 1.07 boys for every girl, but the similarities end there. By the time Russian women reach 25 years old, the number of male counterparts begins to dwindle at a pace not found … Read more In Russia, Men Die Young, Leaving Women With Bad Choices

A New Campaign, #EveryHourMatters, Urges Instant Post-Rape Care

April 13, 2016March 28, 2016 by Lori Silberman Brauner

Maureen Phiri, a young girl from a poor family in Malawi, was only 11 years old when she was raped by the man who had hired her to do housework for him and his wife. Not only did Maureen continue to experience sexual abuse from the man she worked for, he left her with another long-term … Read more A New Campaign, #EveryHourMatters, Urges Instant Post-Rape Care

Rights of Girls, a Politically Loaded Issue, May Sink in the New UN Development Goals

September 28, 2015September 8, 2015 by Barbara Crossette

When member countries of the United Nations agreed to the Millennium Development Goals 15 years ago, advocates for stronger rights for women and girls were disappointed as governments (and the Vatican) balked at reasserting the bold promises of the international conferences of the 1990s in Cairo and in Beijing. Later campaigns, inside and outside the … Read more Rights of Girls, a Politically Loaded Issue, May Sink in the New UN Development Goals

The Philippines’ Population Boom Will Hurt Its Economic Boom

May 20, 2015May 12, 2015 by Barry Mirkin

DAVAO, Philippines — An Asian country with more than 100 million people, spread over 7,000 islands, the Philippines is probably best known for two things: the boxer and native son, Manny Pacquiao, who just lost a big fight, and devastating typhoons that periodically sweep across the country, leaving widespread death and destruction in their wake. … Read more The Philippines’ Population Boom Will Hurt Its Economic Boom

A UN Expert on Women Who Refused to Be Silenced

December 9, 2014July 1, 2013 by Barbara Crossette

In the global annals of women’s rights defenders over the last half century, Nafis Sadik’s name will always rank high, though little may be known about her among the broad American public, focused as it usually is on Western feminists with Western issues. As head of the United Nations Population Fund in 1994, Sadik marshaled … Read more A UN Expert on Women Who Refused to Be Silenced

Nations Reject Gender Violence, but the Suffering Endures

November 19, 2014March 27, 2013 by Barbara Crossette

The 57th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women ended in mid-March more with a sigh of relief than with jubilation. The commission, comprising 45 national delegations, managed to reach a final agreement (which it could not do last year) without losing ground on women’s rights that had been gained, at … Read more Nations Reject Gender Violence, but the Suffering Endures