The Sierra Leone office of the United Nations has confirmed the arrival of the Assistant Secretary=General of the UN who doubles as the Deputy Executive Director of UN Women, Asa Regner, along with the UNFPA Regional Executive, at the Sierra Leone International Airport, Lungi, on Monday, June 27, 2022, to attend the 10th African Conference on Sexual and Health Rights (ACSHR).
The conference is scheduled for 27 June to 1st July 2022, at the Bintumani International Conference Centre, and which will attract close to 700 participants from across the continent.
The 10th Africa Conference on Sexual Health and Rights is a biennial conference convened by the African Federation for Sexual Health and Rights. It is hosted in Sierra Leone by Purposeful, an Africa-rooted global hub for girls’ organizing and activism. The Chief Patrol for the 10th edition of the ACSHR conference is Sierra Leone’s First Lady, Dr. Fatima Bio.
UN Women and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) have confirmed the visit of three senior UN officials from their headquarters and regional offices, respectively, to Sierra Leone. The three senior UN officials are Asa Regner, UN Assistant Secretary-General and UN Women Deputy Executive Director, Oulimata Sarr, UN Women Regional Director for West and Central Africa, and Fabrizia Falcione, UNFPA Deputy Director for the West and Central Africa Region.
Fabrizia Falcione, UNFPA's Deputy Director for the West and Central Africa Region, expressed her eagerness to visit Sierra Leone and engage with civil society organizations and other stakeholders on critical thematic issues such as gender-based violence and reproductive health and rights. She is expected to meet with the program’s beneficiaries in the country, according to a media advisory from the UNFPA office.
The UN Assistant Secretary-General and UN Women Deputy Executive Director, Asa Regner, and the Regional Director of UN Women Regional Director for West and Central Africa, Oulimata Sarr, said their visit to Sierra Leone, according to the UN Sierra Leone office, is aimed at strengthening and reaffirming UN Women’s support toward the advancement of gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls to further advocacy and partnerships in line with the development agenda of the country and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
According to the UN Women’s Media advisory, the Assistant Secretary, while in Sierra Leone, is expected to meet with His Excellency President Dr. Julius Maada Bio, Vice President Dr. Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh, the Speaker of Parliament, government ministers, and members of the Female Parliamentary Caucus, and the Statistician-General. She is expected to also meet with members of the Diplomatic Corps and the heads of the International Financial Institutions (IFIs) development partners, civil society, women, and youth groups in Sierra Leone.
The three senior UN officials that are here for the conference and other diplomatic functions are also expected to meet with the UN Country Coordinator, members of the UN country team, and close to 24 international UN staff from UNFPA and UN Women.
The UNFPA Executive Director, Natalia Kanem, is expected to address the conference at the opening via video link, according to the UN media advisory. The Assistant Secretary-General will make a statement at the closing ceremony, while the UNFPA Deputy Director for the West and Central Africa Region will participate in a panel on "Partnership to End Violence; Centring Social Movements as the Solution for perspectives and commitments from governments, UN agencies, and the the donors."
Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations and Deputy Executive Director of UN Women, Asa Regner. Photo credit @UN Women
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