United States Delegation Statement by Reva Gupta, Program Officer in bureau of PRM, on UNFPA Draft Country Program for Pakistan, 2013-2017, UNDP/UNFPA/UNOPS Executive Board Meeting Second Regular Session

Reva Gupta, program officer, in the bureau of Population, Refugees & Migration

New York, NY

September 4, 2012

AS DELIVERED

Mr. President, the United States would like to thank UNFPA for the opportunity to comment on the Draft Country Programme Document for Pakistan.

The United States shares UNFPA’s commitment to addressing the family planning needs of the people of Pakistan. We were pleased to see the focus on delaying marriage and healthy spacing of pregnancies amongst young people in Pakistan.

We wish to note that this draft country programme accurately captures the current situation on the ground in Pakistan, though we feel it may be too ambitious given the level of funding over the five year period.

Given that the total fertility rate among the lowest income quintiles in Pakistan is 5.8, the maternal mortality rate is 276, and under-five mortality is among the highest in Asia, we would further recommend that integrated family planning-maternal, newborn, and child health (FP-MNCH) service delivery, especially in rural areas, be the major objective of the UNFPA program, with resource allocations reflecting this priority.

Thank you again for the opportunity to comment.

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