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APF strengthens ties with United Nations Population Fund

Graphic: Women and girls

The APF and UNFPA have agreed to work together to bolster the capacity of NHRIs to promote and protect the rights of and girls across the region.


The APF and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) have agreed to strengthen their cooperation on projects that will have positive outcomes for women and girls in countries across the region.

The APF and UNFPA recently signed a new Memorandum of Understanding that aims to:

  • Strengthen the capacity of NHRIs to incorporate women and girls' rights and sexual and reproductive health and rights into their work
  • Support NHRIs to conduct national public inquiries concerning sexual and reproductive health and rights; and
  • Support NHRIs in their engagement in Universal Period Review processes to address women and girls' rights and sexual and reproductive health and rights.

"This renewed cooperation with UNFPA will enhance the support we provide to our members as they go about their critical work to address the challenges confronting women and girls," said Pip Dargan, Deputy Director of the APF secretariat and APF Gender Focal Point.

"It will also support the APF in our broader goal to promote gender equality in all aspects of our work," she said.

The APF recently held a blended learning training program on the human rights of women and girls for representatives of NHRIs in South Asia. Participants identified reproductive rights as one of the major issues affecting women and girls in their respective countries.

In 2011, the APF and UNFPA published a study that examined the opportunities and challenges for NHRIs in integrating reproductive rights into their activities. It was followed by a regional workshop that brought together representatives from 15 APF member institutions.

UNFPA works in all parts of the world to ensure universal access to reproductive health, including family planning and sexual health to all couples and individuals.

Date: 17 June 2015


Image credits

  1. Women and girls - Suchit Nanda/Majority World, Flickr Creative Commons