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Americans for UNFPA (United Nations Fund for Population Activities) is dedicated to building American support for the work of UNFPA and to restoring the United States’ moral and financial contribution to the organization. This is a non-partisan, charitable organization funded by private foundations and individual donors. The U.S. Committee for UNFPA, now Americans for UNFPA, was founded in 1998. We are the official committee for UNFPA in the United States. We support UNFPA by generating awareness of UNFPA’s work, fundraising for field programs, and advocating for U.S. policies in support of UNFPA, including the release of Congressionally-allocated U.S. funds that have been withheld by the Administration since 2002.
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Press Release, 15 January 2007: UNITED NATIONS, New York – In 2006, 180 countries around the world contributed a total of $360 million to the regular resources of UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund. This was the highest number of donor nations and the largest amount of contributions to UNFPA since the organization began its operations in 1969.
“We are very thankful for the continuous and growing support from nearly all United Nations Member States,” said UNFPA Executive Director Thoraya Ahmed Obaid. “We take this new record as a solid sign of the global commitment to our work and mandate. It also highlights the importance of sexual and reproductive health, as well as HIV prevention, for development.”
The United Statesis currently the only country that refuses to fund UNFPA for non-budgetary reasons. President Bush’s decision to withhold appropriated funds from UNFPA undermines the Unites States role as a moral and political leader on issues of global concern.
The American public at-large believe in the work of UNPFA, says Anika Rahman, President, Americans for UNFPA. “We will be tireless in our efforts to re-build U.S. Government support for UNFPA.”
The number of UNFPA donor countries has steadily increased over the last few years, from 69 in 1999; to 172 in 2005, to last year’s new high of 180. The top six donors were the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, the United Kingdom, Japan and Denmark. In addition, every nation in Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as all sub-Saharan Africa, pledged funds to UNFPA in 2006.
In 2005, co-financing income—earmarked to specific projects— reached a high level of $158 million, which included contributions in response to two highly visible emergencies – the 2004 Asian tsunami and the Pakistanearthquake. Co-financing income in 2006 reached the same high level, even though there were no emergency situations of the same scale. The number of donors committed to multi-year funding also rose from 55 countries in 2005 to 73 countries in 2006.
“Achieving universal access to reproductive health is vital for poverty eradication, and it requires partnerships and efforts from governments and the civil society,” said Ms. Obaid.