With generous funding totaling Can$ 16.8 million in 2022, UNFPA’s longstanding partnership with the Government of Canada is enabling the delivery of essential sexual and reproductive health services while also supporting efforts to prevent and respond to gender-based violence.
Cairo, 22 November 2022 — With generous support from the Government of Canada totaling Can$ 16.8 million in 2022, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) continues to deliver much-needed assistance to communities impacted by humanitarian crises throughout the Arab region, with a focus on sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services and programmes designed to prevent and respond to gender-based violence (GBV). The funding also comes as part of an extended and unique grant to support SRH and GBV coordination staff and activities across multiple countries. This critical support helps to ensure that minimum standards are in place to deliver consistent and concerted responses to communities in need across the countries being served.
“UNFPA is immensely grateful to the Government of Canada for its longstanding support to our various programmes in the Arab Region, where some of the worst humanitarian crises in the world continue to unfold,” commented Ms. Laila Baker, UNFPA Regional Director, Arab States. “For decades, Canada has been a central partner to UNFPA and has consistently reaffirmed its leading role in defending and upholding the welfare of women everywhere.”
The programmes being implemented with support from Canada are targeting communities in need throughout Syria, Yemen, Libya, Lebanon, Iraq, and Jordan, where people — particularly women and girls — continue to suffer the impact of protracted humanitarian crises, worsening economic collapse, and the lingering aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to enabling the delivery of critical sexual and reproductive health services to those in need, Canada’s support is funding vital gender-based violence programmes, including safe spaces for women and girls where they can find protection from violence, build social networks, and learn vital life skills.
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About UNFPA
UNFPA is the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency. UNFPA's mission is to deliver a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person's potential is fulfilled. UNFPA calls for the realization of reproductive rights for all and supports access to a wide range of sexual and reproductive health services, including voluntary family planning, quality maternal health care, and comprehensive sexuality education.
For more information, please contact:
In Cairo: Samir Aldarabi, Regional Media Adviser for the United Nations Population Fund for the Arab States Region, +201068484879, aldarabi@unfpa.org
In Amman: Jafar Irshaidat, Communications Specialist, United Nations Population Fund / Regional Humanitarian Hub for Syria and the Arab States, +962797300157, irshaidat@unfpa.org
