Closing Remarks by UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem at the Second Session of the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent

Your Excellency Madame Chairperson Epsy Campbell Barr,
Excellencies, 
Distinguished delegates,  
Colleagues and partners,
Dear friends, 

“Sweet mother, I’ll never forget you,” so goes the famous highlife song. 

It’s very true, Mother Africa is always within memory.

As we draw the curtain on the Second Session of the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent, our call for change is loud. It is clear. It does not end with the closing of this session. 

The valiant efforts of people of African descent for full equality, for full justice, for full recognition of our stories and our ancestry carries on. This collective effort is ‘heart and soul’ work and it is intergenerational. And rest assured, it is a labour of love that we will never give up.

Our time together this week has been more than a series of discussions. It has been a directive for us to join hands and scale up action – to move beyond intention and to create impact, to transform lives through partnerships that will bring about change.

What an experience it has been to acknowledge the enduring strength of our Afro-descendant heritage, which after all, is the common heritage of all humanity that unites us around the globe. Once again, we were reminded that we share the same roots, the same present and a common future to which each and every one of us is called to contribute – no matter how small or large – for everyone to thrive. 

What is on my mind is the important matter of Black health, an issue of great importance for UNFPA, as we work to deliver a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person's potential is fulfilled. We are all too aware that the human right to health continues to be elusive for far too many people of African descent.

UNFPA’s research on Black mothers dying in childbirth is unambiguous: Black women and girls in these Americas face alarming, shockingly high maternal mortality rates. And remember, when we speak of maternal mortality, the “woman” who most often dies in pregnancy or childbirth may not be a woman at all. She is a child. This pernicious fact has to become a rallying call in the Americas, in the Caribbean, in Asia, in Europe, and everywhere in the sixth region of the African Union, the Diaspora. And let us especially rally behind Africa, where maternal mortality is most prevalent and most illustrative of the bargain that is made for the human right to health.

I want to tell you why I have put my faith in the next generation – the young people.

Who else will end female genital mutilation in their lifetime? Who else will end child marriage and adolescent pregnancies, if our young people of African Descent don't stand on their feet? Who else will speak up for their mother, their sister, their daughter, to see an end to the other pandemic of violence against women and girls? 

Young people of African descent deserve a lot of credit. They also deserve a great education, one that includes information about the human body, one that includes comprehensive sexuality education, so that they can make informed and healthy decisions about their bodies, their autonomy and their lives.

We also know — and UNFPA research on reproductive and climate justice backs this up — that the health, rights and wellbeing of women and girls of African descent are being devastated by the rising seas, the expanding deserts, and all of the consequences of the rampant disregard for the planet, especially in the wealthy carbon emitting countries. 

At UNFPA, we have committed to addressing systemic challenges. 

It is why we advocate for the collection, analysis, and use of disaggregated data, including by ethnicity and race, as we recently did in Panama and Uruguay. That is part of building a strong, inclusive health system that work for everyone. 

It is why we are helping to build a global health workforce with an additional million midwives so that every woman and adolescent girl everywhere can safely give birth.

It is why we are determined to expand diversity, inclusion, and opportunity for young people through initiatives like UNFPA’s Young Professionals of African Descent programme.

We all have a shared responsibility to listen to, heed and amplify voices of people of African Descent, including LGBTIQ people and people of diverse sexual identities. Let us recognize everyone’s valuable contributions to our societies. Let us support efforts towards equality, justice and development for all.  

We are building momentum – the energy in this room tells you that.

As we lead up to the Summit of the Future and the 30th anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development and its Programme of Action, let us be ready to use every international framework in place at our disposal to combat racism and uphold the rights of people that are subjected to multiple forms of intersecting discrimination.

As people of African descent, when it is about fairness and justice we run towards the right.  And we know that, “Oh, deep in my heart, I do believe we shall overcome, some day.” 

As we conclude the Second Session of this Permanent Forum, let us renew our spiritual conviction to work together to build the future we want. 
 
The march continues. There is no turning back – we move forward.

Thank you.