New York, 12 November 2020 -- As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to take a heavy toll on the health and economies of countries around the world, governments, non-governmental organizations, international financial institutions and the private sector are stepping up political, financial and in-kind support for programmes that protect the health and rights of women and girls.

A year ago, at the landmark Nairobi Summit on ICPD25, the world came together to commit to ending preventable maternal deaths, the unmet need for contraception, gender-based violence and harmful practices like child marriage and female genital mutilation, by 2030. At that Summit, more than 8,000 delegates from 170 countries, including Kazakhstan, made 1,250 financial and other commitments in support of sexual and reproductive health and rights, gender equality and population dynamics.

«Kazakhstan’s forward-looking commitments announced at the Summit to continue financing youth health centers to provide youth-friendly information, counseling and sexual and reproductive health protection services; to reduce the age at which adolescents can obtain medical services without parental consent from 18 to 16; continue investing in maternal health and promote “zero tolerance” to violence against women and girls through several measures is a clear blueprint enabling the country to deliver a safer world for women, youth and adolescents,” said UNFPA Representative for Kazakhstan and Country Director for Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan Giulia Vallese.

 “The commitments made in Nairobi are more critical now than ever before. Far from dampening our ambition, COVID-19 has only sharpened our focus and resolve,” says UNFPA Executive Director, Dr. Natalia Kanem. “I am heartened to see so many government, private sector and civil society partners take bold steps to sustain our collective efforts and deliver on our promises to women and girls. As long as we stand together, we will prevail.”

Civil society, the private sector, academia, and others rallied behind the cause on an unprecedented scale, pledging over $8 billion towards achieving zero preventable maternal deaths, zero unmet need for family planning, and zero gender-based violence and harmful practices by 2030.

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• Explainer: what is ICPD and why does it matter?
• Statement by Kazakhstan’s Head of Delegation at the Nairobi Summit.
• Kyz Tagdyry (#HerFuture) song by singer, activist and UNFPA Voice KALIYA (Akmarzhan Kusherbayeva) opened the Nairobi Summit.

For more information and media enquiries please contact Dina Teltayeva at teltayeva@unfpa.org or +7 701 765 40 10.