The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has expressed its determination to focus more on preventive measures to tackle challenges associated with Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and maternal deaths in the Lake Chad region.

Sennen Hounton, the UNFPA’s regional director for West and Central Africa, told journalists at the 5th edition of the Lake Chad Basin Governors’ Forum in Maiduguri.

Mr Hounton, who spoke through his representative, Alain Akpadji, the resident representative for UNFPA in Burkina Faso, insisted that the UNFPA’s intervention for Lake Chad’s sustainability was paramount.

“The region continues to grapple with high fertility rates, early and forced marriages, adolescent pregnancies, and fragile health systems, making UNFPA’s interventions vital for sustainable development and human rights,” he stated.

The UNFPA’s envoy said his agency was working toward expanding women’s access to quality maternal healthcare by strengthening antenatal, childbirth and postnatal services to ensure the safety of pregnancy and other complications.

Mr Hounton said that to achieve this, the agency decided to focus on training midwives, nurses, and other healthcare workers in underserved communities within the region.

In addition to that, the envoy also announced that the UNFPA had embarked on advocacy campaign for universal health coverage that would guarantee women’s access to life-saving maternal health services.

Mr Hounton, however, expressed happiness that the rate of maternal mortality had dropped sharply in many countries via improved access to quality maternal healthcare services.

On GBV-related issues, the envoy said the agency’s campaign against the menace has started yielding results, with many countries coming up with stronger legal backing protecting women and girls whose rights had been abused.

Mr Hounton said the UNFPA’s new approach would also address the “Key challenges such as maternal mortality, unmet needs for family planning GBV and the vulnerability of women and girls in humanitarian crises.”

He said the UNFPA’s interventions would further contribute to achieving the Lake Chad Basin Commission’s strategic plans for ensuring the region’s stabilisation.

(NAN)