Thank you Mister Chair,
Madame Executive Director,
Italy is a traditional partner of UNFPA and has consistently supported its operations throughout the years.
Please, allow me to recall the 4 main pillars of our long-standing cooperation.
- First, the protection of women and girls from all forms of violence and abuse and the fight against all harmful practices, together with the promotion of maternal health, are common priorities that we share and uphold. Italy supports the Joint Programs on Child Early and Forced Marriage and to accelerate the elimination of Female Genital Mutilations. At the eve of the Zero Tolerance Day, we advocate, together with our partners, for fostering our collective action to end this practice that violates the rights, health and dignity of millions of women in the world.
- Second, Italy supports UNFPA humanitarian action, through the work of its teams deployed in the most challenging emergency settings. In a spirit of strengthened inter-agency cooperation, we have recently approved a new joint program on Integrated Child Protection and Education, led by UNICEF and implemented in close partnership with UNFPA, which will play a key role in delivering critical protection and reproductive health services for youth and adolescents in Gaza. At the same time, we continue to support UNFPA’s humanitarian operations, including through planned interventions in 2025 in contexts such as Mali and Afghanistan, where UNFPA’s presence remains essential to address urgent needs.
- Third, we support UNFPA pillar on population dynamics, in line with the Strategic Plan 2026-2029 encompassing some of the main transformations of the current times – meaning aging, migration and climate change. We do believe that these are horizontal issues, that sits at the crossroad of different regions of the world, and here we can meet in a complementary and constructive ways.
- Fourth, we share UNFPA vision for strengthening and scaling up partnerships with the private sector to mobilize additional resources, but not only, also to accelerate results, in innovative and inclusive manners.
Madam Executive Director,
in the context of UN80 and in line with a changing development landscape, where new priorities emerge but persistent challenges remain, Italy reiterates its appreciation for your steadfast leadership in steering the Program through a phase of transformation driven by the objective to serve better, and to deliver the actual change that we all we pursue, which is the one affecting the lives, the dignity and the well-being of women and girls on the ground.
Thank you Mr. Chair.
