Dr. Kanem had several high-level meetings in the margins of the AU Summit and she used this opportunity reiterate UNFPA’s commitment to the development of Africa’s people.
Especially the women, adolescents and youth who make up a significant proportion of the population and are disproportionately affected when there is inaction or neglect. She highlighted the need to leave no one behind and the commitment to reach the furthest behind first when it comes to issues of their fundamental human rights including the right to decide, free of coercion, discrimination and violence, on matters concerning their sexual and reproductive health and rights.
Dr. Natalia Kanem, the acting Executive Director of UNFPA met H. E. Amira El Fadil, the Commissioner for Social Affairs at the African Union Commission. This was an important meeting to strengthen the collaboration between UNFPA and AUC’s Department of Social Affairs who hold the mantle for many key issues related to UNFPA’s mandate. They discussed some on-going initiatives involving the partners and how to work even more
closely together moving forward especially along the implementation of the AU Roadmap on Harnessing the Demographic Dividend through Investments in Youth.
The Commissioner stressed the need to ensure greater implementation which is an important priority for her department moving forward. UNFPA assured her of its unwavering support towards increased implementation and added that the successful implementation to existing commitment would transform the face of development in Africa and benefit all the women, adolescents and youth of Africa.
Dr. Kanem used the opportunity to present to the Commissioner a copy of the “Demographic Dividend Atlas for Africa, July 2017” which is the organization’s latest contribution towards providing evidence to the discourse on DD.
