Bangui, Central African Republic – Pio Smith, UN Assistant Secretary General and UNFPA Deputy Executive Director for Programme ai, concluded a high-level mission to the Central African Republic focused on deepening partnerships and advancing national priorities on maternal health, family planning and peacebuilding.
During the mission, Mr. Smith held high-level meetings with His Excellency President Faustin-Archange Touadéra, the Honourable President of the National Assembly, Simplice Mathieu Sarandji, and the Honourable Minister of Economy, Planning and International Cooperation, Professor Richard Filakota. The discussions formed part of UNFPA’s ongoing advocacy efforts to accelerate progress in improving the health, rights and well-being of women and girls across the country.
His Excellency President Faustin-Archange Touadéra and the delegation led by Pio Smith.
Mr. Smith commended the President and the Government for prioritizing access to quality maternal healthcare and for recognizing maternal mortality reduction as a national emergency. He also praised the Government’s leadership in advancing family planning, including its active engagement in the national dialogue on family planning and its investment in reproductive health commodities. In the Central African Republic, investing in family planning is not only life-saving, but also smart economics, with every $1 invested generating an estimated $2 to $6 in returns.
President Touadéra reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to improving the well-being of the population and acknowledged UNFPA’s continued support to the country’s development priorities as the Central African Republic advances on its path from fragility towards greater stability and resilience.
As part of his engagements, Mr. Smith also met with Valentine Rugwabiza, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA). He was accompanied by Dr. Sennen Hounton, UNFPA Regional Director for West and Central Africa, and Mr. Victor Rakoto, UNFPA Representative in the Central African Republic.
During the meeting, Mr. Smith expressed appreciation for the strong partnership between UNFPA and MINUSCA, particularly through joint initiatives supported by the UN Peacebuilding Fund on Youth, Peace and Security.
He also thanked MINUSCA for its support to UNFPA, the Government and the national statistics institute, ICASEES, during the enumeration phase of the country’s fourth General Population and Housing Census — the first national census conducted in more than 20 years.
In addition, the Deputy Executive Director for Programme ai met with international partners and donors. He called on international donors to maintain their critical support and increase flexible funding to match the government’s political will, stressing that now is the time to translate high-level commitments into tangible resources that protect and improve the lives of women and girls in the Central African Republic.
The mission highlighted the importance of strengthened collaboration among humanitarian, development and peace actors to respond to the needs of women, girls and young people, while advancing long-term peace, resilience and sustainable development in the Central African Republic.
