NAIROBI, Kenya, TICAD VI – “Only when women and adolescent girls have access to reproductive health care and are able to make their own choices about whether, when or how often to have children will they truly be said to be fulfilling their human rights.”
This was said by UNFPA Deputy Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem today at a side event on Building Public Private Partnerships to advance Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn and Child Health, at TICAD VI in Nairobi.
The Sustainable Development Goals are ambitious and will require enormous efforts across countries, continents, industries and disciplines – but they are achievable. “UNFPA is working with governments, partners including from the private sector, and other UN agencies to directly tackle many of these goals,” she said.
In saving lives, UNFPA not only does something that is morally right but also helps build more prosperous, productive communities. Healthy and literate women who can access health care to give birth safely create the preconditions for economic growth and prosperity.
“The inextricable link between a country’s health and its wealth is widely understood. Women and children represent more than half of the world’s population, so their well-being is a cornerstone of human development and progress,” she said.
Private sector involvement is critical
The challenges UNFPA seeks to address are complex and require the active engagement of the private sector.
“The UN and its Member States need the private sector to help address the many development challenges the world faces,” she said. “Equally, the private sector is reliant on the economic growth that stems from the increased health and well-being of the communities it serves and relies upon as a market,” Dr. Kanem said.
UNFPA has partnered with some of the most prominent global companies in the world. Just as important are the small businesses and local enterprises that support national programmes, however.
“I applaud the private sector’s work to optimize supply chains, the IT solutions that you also bring to bear on the work we do, such as M-pesa and other mobile technologies, and your digital-data analytics and visualizations, which have brought on a data revolution,” she said.
In Africa too many women die every day from pregnancy-related complications. Too many girls are married as children. And too many women and girls suffer from gender-based violence. This is unacceptable and must stop now. - Dr. Natalia Kanem, UNFPA Deputy Executive Director
These initiatives help build models that offer the best of public and private sector, with great potential for scaling up the delivery of healthcare in remote and vulnerable settings all over the world.
However, much more still needs to be done.
'Too many women die'
“In Africa too many women die every day from pregnancy-related complications. Too many girls are married as children. And too many women and girls suffer from gender-based violence. This is unacceptable and must be stopped now,” Dr. Kanem said.
Sustainable development can only be achieved if women and men, girls and boys, enjoy the dignity and human rights to expand their capabilities, secure their reproductive health and rights, find decent work and contribute to economic growth.
“Defining the necessary policies and investments to secure that future demands that governments worldwide know the size, sex, location and age structure of their present and future populations, so they can tailor investments for inclusive growth – and leave no one behind,” she said.
Towards a Demographic Dividend
Countries with the greatest demographic advantages for development are those entering a period known as a ‘Demographic Dividend’ – in which the working age population has a low proportion of young dependents and the benefits of good health, quality education and decent employment. A smaller number of children per household leads to larger investments per child, more freedom for women to enter the formal workforce and more household savings for a secure old age. When this happens, the national economic payoff of a Demographic Dividend can be substantial.
“We need to make sure that Africa will be able to reap the benefits of its Demographic Dividend. This can only be done by joining forces, building strategic partnerships and investing wisely,” she said.
'A world with no one left behind'
Improving the lives of women and children in Africa who are currently left behind is an ambitious task, said UNFPA Ambassador in Kenya, Gina Din. “If we want this continent to prosper and honour its full potential we need healthy, educated and empowered women, children and men who can take part in the growth and progress of Africa. Building partnerships across sectors and across public, private and civil institutions is the only way forward.”
To unleash the full potential of partnerships, a change of mindset is needed. “It requires the development sector to recognize and understand concepts like return on investment, profits and value proposition. But it also requires the private sector to expand the horizon further then next year’s bottom line. Creating true shared value with a social outcome means investing in the whole ecosystem, investing in market creation and redefining the value of a product.”
If we keep the discussions and the dialogue open, honest and ambitious I believe we can take huge leaps forward in making a better life for all. With no one left behind - Gina Din
As a business woman I am pleased to see the concept of partnerships being given such an important role with its own goal in the SDG’s. And I am excited to see the commitment to partnerships shown by UNFPA, when they appointed me their Honorary Ambassador here in Kenya. It proves to me that mindset change is already happening. But we need to keep the discussions going. During a recent event here in Nairobi organized by the Private Sector Health Partnership Kenya and the World Economic Forum we discussed the challenges on Public Private Partnerships.
“We still need to discuss how to build trust between partners, we need to discuss how to link and assure quality in all the different initiatives taking off. We need to discuss the role of SMEs and we need to discuss how we commit partners to take on the tough and difficult tasks,” she said. “If we keep the discussions and the dialogue open, honest and ambitious I believe we can take huge leaps forward in making a better life for all. With no one left behind."
Over 35 African Heads of State were set to attend TICAD VI and over 100 companies from Japan were to exhibit as part of the 4,000 delegates from Japan. Over 60 business Memorandums of Understanding are expected to be signed during the conference – a strong commitment from the public and private sector to help Africa’s development.
