United Nations Population Fund

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About us

UNFPA is the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency. Our mission is to deliver a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person's potential is fulfilled.
UNFPA Supports:

Reproductive health care for women and youth in more than 150 countries – which are home to more than 80 per cent of the world’s population
The health of pregnant women, especially the 1 million who face life-threatening complications each month
Reliable access to modern contraceptives sufficient to benefit 20 million women a year
Training of thousands of health workers to help ensure at least 90 per cent of all childbirths are supervised by skilled attendants
Prevention of gender-based violence, which affects 1 in 3 women
Abandonment of female genital mutilation, which harms 3 million girls annually
Prevention of teen pregnancies, complications of which are the leading cause of death for girls 15-19 years old
Efforts to end child marriage, which could affect an estimated 70 million girls over the next 5 years
Delivery of safe birth supplies, dignity kits and other life-saving materials to survivors of conflict and natural disaster
Censuses, data collection and analyses, which are essential for development planning

UNFPA is formally named the United Nations Population Fund. The organization was created in 1969, the same year the United Nations General Assembly declared “parents have the exclusive right to determine freely and responsibly the number and spacing of their children.”

UNFPA calls for the realization of reproductive rights for all and supports access to a wide range of sexual and reproductive health services – including voluntary family planning, maternal health care and comprehensive sexuality education.

Since UNFPA started its work, the world has seen progress: The number and rate of women dying from complications of pregnancy or childbirth has been halved. Families are healthier. Young people are more connected and empowered than ever before.

But too many are still left behind. More than 760 million people are mired in extreme poverty. Sexual and reproductive health problems are a leading cause of death and disability for women in the developing world. Young people bear the highest risks of HIV infection and unintended pregnancy. Many millions of girls face the prospect of child marriage and other harmful practices, such as female genital mutilation (FGM).
Much more needs to be done to ensure a world in which all individuals can exercise their basic human rights, including those that relate to the most intimate and fundamental aspects of life.
In 2018, UNFPA launched efforts to achieve three transformative results, ambitions that promise to change the world for every man, woman and young person:

How we work

UNFPA works in more than 150 countries and territories that are home to the vast majority of the world’s people. Its mission: to ensure that every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person’s potential is fulfilled.

Guided by the 1994 Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), UNFPA partners with governments, civil society and other agencies to advance its mission. The ICPD Beyond 2014 Global Report, released in February 2014, revealed how much progress has been made and the significant work that remains to be done. The actions and recommendations identified in the report are crucial for achieving the goals of the ICPD Programme of Action and its linkage with the post-2015 development agenda.

The work of UNFPA is based on the premise that all human beings are entitled to equal rights and protections. We focus on women and young people because these are groups whose ability to exercise their right to sexual and reproductive health is often compromised.

Our work on their behalf is informed by an understanding of population dynamics, human rights and cultural sensitivities.

Empowering individuals and governments

UNFPA adopts a human rights-based approach throughout its work. This entails educating individuals and communities about their human rights, so that they can then demand the respect and basic services they are entitled to. This approach also involves empowering governments to fulfil these rights.

UNFPA focuses on women and young people, because these are the groups whose rights often go unfulfilled. Understanding local cultural complexities is crucial to the success of our work because many of the issues UNFPA deals with – including sexual and reproductive health and rights – are sensitive, sometimes taboo, subjects.

Advocate for action

UNFPA amplifies its impact by empowering governments to deliver on their promises to women and young people.

It accomplishes this by providing data and analysis to show where countries are falling short, by mobilizing resources and expertise, by advocating directly with government officials or in public forums and through training and monitoring. We participate in regional and international meetings and forums that enhance knowledge about and commitment to our issues.

Since 1978, UNFPA has published an annual flagship report - the State of World Population - to give wider visibility to critical and emerging issues.

Partnerships

UNFPA further expands the scope of its work by partnering with civil society, academic institutions and the private sector. In 2013, it formed a Civil Society Advisory Panel to encourage dialogue with organizations, networks and partners on programming and policies. UNFPA also works regularly with parliamentarians to review progress in implementing the ICPD Programme of Action.

UNFPA also participates in and administers a number of pooled funding mechanisms - including Joint Programmes and Multi-Donor Trust Funds - at country, regional and global level.