Women
DR Natalia Kanem, Executive Director, UN Population Fund (UNFPA), has saluted women of African descent for their resilience and commitment to the course of freedom and human rights.
Kanem said this in a statement in commemoration of the International Day for People of African descent on Thursday.
The theme for 2023 is: “Delivering a world where every pregnancy is wanted every childbirth is safe and every young person’s potential is fulfilled.”
She said that women of African descent had continued to carry the torch for justice amid long standing inequities
Kanem, who categorised women of African descent as part of an extraordinary legacy, said they had led movements to end enslavement and uphold fundamental rights for themselves, and their communities.
“Afrodescendent women have never given up the quest for equality, justice and recognition.
“They are tireless advocates because they live the reality of intersecting forms of discrimination.
“In demanding their inalienable rights, they are contributing to more just and inclusive societies,” she said.
The Executive Director explained that the day was a moment to examine how systemic racism, sexism and other factors continue to undermine the agency of women of African descent.
She however regretted that such ugly development had further pushed women of African descent into greater poverty and towards poorer health outcomes.
Kanem said: “New data from UNFPA reveals Afro-descendent women and girls across Americas experience systemic denials of quality care, mistreatment and abuse at health sector, which leads to deadly impacts.”
She said: “In the United States, women and girls of African descent are three times more likely to die during or shortly after childbirth than non-Afro-descendants.”
According to Kanem, in Suriname they are 2.5 times more likely; and 1.6 times more likely in Brazil and Colombia.
She said that these deaths are mostly preventable.
The Executive Director therefore called for collaborative end to racism and sexism that drive the patterns of abuse and neglect that take so many lives.
“We can eradicate the deeply rooted discrimination still embedded in medical curricula and health-service delivery.
“And in policy choices that short-change funds, staff and equipment for communities of African descent everywhere.”
Kanem said harvest of disaggregated data was imperative to overcome these barriers.
“Most countries track maternal death rates; only a few can show how rates vary across different races.
“In the Americas, for example, only 11 of 35 countries collect statistics on maternal mortality by race.”
She expressed optimism that one pioneering community-based midwifery programme in Colombia, Partera Vital, cut maternal deaths to zero by seeking to understand and respond to needs in Afro-Colombian and indigenous populations.
Kanem asserted that powerful results could be achieved by supporting services that meet the needs and preferences expressed by women and girls.
She reaffirmed the leading global role of UNFPA in improving health care and achieving justice and development for people of African descent, especially women and girls.
“”We are accelerating improvements in data so countries can take urgent corrective actions.
“There is a lot of work ahead of us, but we will never give up.”
She reiterated the commitment of UNFPA to continue working with partners to lift up marginalised communities and to end racism and discrimination in every form.
Kanem expressed hope that “one day the sun will rise over a world of rights and choices for people of African descent, and for all.”
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the International Day for People of African Descent is a moment to recognise their contributions to the world and renew the call to promote and protect the human rights of descendants of African victims of enslavement.(NAN)
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-September. 1, 2023 @ 03:50 GMT |
Tags: Dr Natalia Kanem UN Population Fund
