Liberia’s Permanent Rep. to UN and UNFPA West & Central Africa Regional Director hold Bilateral Discussions on Driving the Region’s Dev’t Goals

New York, 11 September 2023— UNFPA West and Central Africa Regional Director Sennen Hounton has urged countries in the region, including Liberia, to consider more domestic investments in sexual and reproductive health and rights-related programmes to achieve national development goals.

Speaking recently in New York when he paid a courtesy call on Liberia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Sarah Safyn Fyneah, the UNFPA West and Central Africa Regional Director underscored the need for Liberia to advance equal opportunities for adolescent girls by addressing the key barriers that perpetuate their marginalization including teenage pregnancies.

Mr. Hounton commended the Government of Liberia for its renewed commitment to advancing the development needs of the country’s youthful population, particularly the current emergency programme to address the needs of young people who use drugs and harmful substances.

In response, Liberia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Sarah Safyn Fyneah, congratulated Mr. Hounton for his appointment as UNFPA West and Central Africa Regional Director and reaffirmed Liberia’s commitment to the Commission on Population and Development, in line with the African Common position as ascribed in the Addis Ababa Declaration.

“Sexual rights and sexual reproductive health are all part of the SDGs goals, and it should be embraced and supported if our shared goal is to leave no one behind,” Ambassador Fyneah said.

During the meeting, Ambassador Fyneah and Mr. Hounton discussed the current UNFPA Country Programme of support and areas of mutual interest between the UNFPA and the Government of Liberia. They also shared notes on the upcoming 2023 SDG Summit, which will occur on 18-19 September 2023 in New York.

The 2023 SDG Summit will begin a new phase of accelerated progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals with high-level political guidance on transformative and accelerated actions leading up to 2030. Convened by the President of the General Assembly, the Summit will mark the halfway point to the deadline for achieving the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals.

Liberia will participate in a Side Event to highlight the importance of adolescent well-being within the 2030 SDG Agenda and the Commission on Population and Development (CPD). The Side Event is organized by the current Chair of the Commission on Population and Development (CPD), the Government of Honduras, as part of the series of events commemorating the 30^th Anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development.-Press release