The United Nations Fund for Population Activity (UNFPA) Liberia recently held a one-day workshop with several media entities to promote the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) nationwide.
ICPD was held in Cairo, Egypt, in 1994, at which time 79 governments participated, with some 11,000 registered participants–governments, UN specialized agencies and organizations, and so on, and discussed the population merit and demerit.
“Your presence here signifies the meaningful partnership we share in advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights to ensure a sustainable future for all,” Dr. Mady Biaye, Resident Representative, UNFPA in Liberia, said.
Dr. Biaye added that population and development, and sexual and reproductive health and rights are crucial for national growth and development. “When we talk about population and development and SRHR, we are not talking about abstract concepts; we are talking about the concrete steps we can take to ensure social and economic progress as a society,” he noted. “As the reproductive health and rights agency of the United Nations, this is the core of UNFPA’s global mandate.”
However, he said, the role of the media in achieving the shared goals for advancing gender equality and the rights and welfare of women and girls is important; therefore, the UNFPA media collaboration is for their various platforms to amplify advocacy and key messages for achieving a world where every “pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe, and every young person’s potential is realized”.
The UNFPA works to achieve three transformative results: ending preventable maternal deaths, ending the unmet need for family planning, and ending gender-based violence and harmful practices.
“We are bringing you together because of your track record and interest in advancing advocacy and messages around UNFPA’s mandate,” Dr. Biaye said. “We have identified potential champions within the Liberia media landscape of diverse media practitioners, ranging from print, electronic, social media and bloggers who are committed to advocacy, investigative reporting, storytelling and social media posting and blogging on UNFPA’s mandate.”
According to him, UNFPA’s plan to work with the Liberian media is intended to increase reporting on issues relevant to the ICPD agenda of the UNFPA’s mandate while upholding the “do no harm” principle in the production of media content related to the communities that are being served.
UNFPA is a data-driven agency. Reliable, disaggregated population data is the foundation for national development planning and governance. It supports the government in conducting censuses, surveys, and research to ensure that every policy and investment is informed by accurate, up-to-date evidence of where the needs are greatest.
With maternal mortality, female genital mutilation and teenage pregnancy on the rise, the media is charged to preach the message of reduction or elimination of the uncalled occurrence. By 2030, many counties anticipate reducing maternal mortality death to 70 deaths, but Liberia is far from achieving this, according to the UNFPA.
For teenage pregnancy, it is on rise in Liberia while other countries are tackling it. For instance, Ghana has 15%, Nigeria, 19%, Sierra Leone, 21%, Gambia, 14%, but Liberia has 30%, a situation that is alarming.
With teenage girls, especially 15-year-olds, being overwhelmed by sex debut in Liberia, massive teenage pregnancy is on the rise nationwide, and 6 out of 10 women have experienced gender-based violence.
The UNFPA has frowned on the harmful practice of female genital mutilation in Liberia, maternal mortality and gender-based violence, and called on the media to proactively act in spreading the message.
