Statements and speeches
Statement
Contraceptives are essential and life-saving – and they are under threat globally
30 October 2025
Contraceptives save lives. For almost 50 years, global health authorities have recognized contraception as essential medicine. People want them, use them, and rely on them every day.
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Statement by the Inter-Agency Standing Committee on Sudan: A Call for Urgent International Response
29 October 2025
The disastrous humanitarian situation in Sudan continues to require urgent action.
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Statement on the reported massacre at El Fasher Maternity Hospital, North Darfur, Sudan by UNFPA Executive Director Diene Keita
29 October 2025
I condemn the shocking attack carried out at El Fasher Maternity Hospital in North Darfur, where at least 460 patients and their families were reportedly killed, after the seizure of the city by the…
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Statement by UNFPA Director of the Humanitarian Response Division, Shoko Arakaki on the Situation for Women and Girls in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
21 October 2025
New York, October 21, 2025 - I have just returned from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where I visited Kinshasa and Goma to witness firsthand the realities facing women and girls caught in one of the world’s most neglected humanitarian crises — one marked by displacement, protection, health, and food/nutrition challenges. Throughout the visit, I reaffirmed our collective commitment to their health, rights, and protection.
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Statement by UNFPA Executive Director, Diene Keita on the Attack Against a Humanitarian Convoy in Kherson Region, Ukraine
14 October 2025
UNFPA strongly condemns today’s attack on a United Nations humanitarian convoy in the Kherson region of Ukraine. The convoy, clearly marked and operating under the coordination of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), was delivering essential aid to residents on the front lines in the Bilozerka area of Kherson, when it came under drone and artillery fire.
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Opening Remarks by UNFPA Executive Director Ms. Diene Keita at the World Health Summit Keynote Session: Women’s Health – Global Wealth: Catalyzing Returns on Bold Investments
14 October 2025
Every single day, over 700 women die from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. That’s one woman lost every two minutes – needlessly. Each year, cervical and breast cancer claim the lives of more than 1 million women.
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UNFPA Statement on Repeated Attacks Against El Fasher Maternity Hospital, Sudan
09 October 2025
NEW YORK, 9 October 2025 - UNFPA condemns in the strongest terms the repeated attacks on El Fasher Maternity Hospital in El Fasher, capital of North Darfur, Sudan, the latest of which struck the…
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Girls are on the front lines of crisis – and of their future
08 October 2025
Every girl has the right to embrace who she is and choose who she wants to become. On her path to adulthood, she must be protected, respected and allowed to flourish, her aspirations for her future heard and encouraged, her rights and choices protected.
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Panel Remarks by Ms. Diene Keita, UNFPA Executive Director, at the UNGA80 High-Level Meeting: 30th Anniversary of the World Programme of Action for Youth
26 September 2025
In practice, it means, among other things, access to sexual and reproductive health services and protection against gender-based violence, including technology-assisted gender-based violence (TGBV), and harmful practices. It means putting their rights and choices first.
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Opening Remarks by Ms. Diene Keita, UNFPA Executive Director, at the UNGA80 Side Event: The Political Economy of Implementing Primary Health Care: Key Policy Shifts
25 September 2025
When we think of primary health care, our minds turn to Kazakhstan—to Alma-Ata, where the bold vision for primary health care was born in 1978, and to Astana, where the commitment was renewed in 2018. We are reminded that health begins not in hospitals, but in communities, in families, in the daily lives of people across the life course.
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Opening Remarks by Ms. Diene Keita, UNFPA Executive Director at the UNGA80 Side Event: Scaling What Works: From Local Success to Global Impact
25 September 2025
Life-changing solutions exist, but too often, they don't reach those who need them most. This event is about bridging that gap. We’re here to explore how to unlock the capital, partnerships, and political will to scale what works.
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Remarks by Ms. Diene Keita, UNFPA Executive Director, at the UNGA80 Side Event: Building Resilience for Women and Girls in the Face of Climate Change and Conflict
24 September 2025
As the mothers of your nations, you are in a unique and powerful position to influence national agendas, champion legal reforms, and mobilize public support for the protection and the empowerment of women, girls and young people.
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