Jordan's Princess Basma Appointed UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador

UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK—The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has appointed Princess Basma Bint Talal of Jordan as a Goodwill Ambassador. The only sister of the late King Hussein Bin Talal of Jordan, she will support the global work of the UNFPA.

“Princess Basma’s dedication to the health and well-being of women and children has inspired many who work in this field, and helped improve the quality of life of women and children not only in Jordan, but also in the Arab region and the world,” said the UNFPA’s Executive Director, Thoraya Obaid, in announcing the appointment. “I am aware of her active involvement in this field at the national level, through the National Population Commission and the Jordanian Association for Family Planning and Protection, and also of her efforts both at local and international levels to foster the advancement of women and sustainable development initiatives generally.”

“Her acceptance of this appointment is a great honour to the UNFPA and will make a significant contribution to the status of women and youth in the world,” continued Ms. Obaid. “Her enthusiasm for the promotion of the rights of women and adolescents makes her a very effective advocate of the work of the Fund.”

Princess Basma’s commitment to furthering the aims of the Jordanian National Population Commission (NPC) includes her continued support for the development and implementation of the National Population Programme, including Jordan’s first National Population Strategy. As the focal point for population issues at the national level, the Commission provides information and recommendations to policy makers regarding the State of the country’s population and important demographic changes. It also coordinates all activities of the National Population Programme. Participating in the international domain, Princess Basma became a member of the Board of Trustees of the United States-based Population Council in 1996.

Since 1977, Princess Basma has served as Chairperson of the Jordanian Hashemite Fund for Human Development (JOHUD), a national non-governmental organization (NGO), which promotes sustainable development interventions within local communities through an extensive network of community development centres. She has expressed belief in supporting models of socio-economic development that increase community participation and foster self-reliance. Targeting poverty and unemployment, the Fund carries out widespread microcredit schemes and income-generating projects for people in rural and needy urban areas. It also provides services including pre-school education and health, in addition to training and capacity-building activities for women, children and youth.

Princess Basma takes a keen interest in the youth sector and is President of the Jordanian Association for Boy Scouts and Girl Guides, as well as President of the Jordanian Save the Children Fund, established in 1974.

In 1992, Princess Basma initiated the formation of the Jordanian National Commission for Women (JNCW). As the primary policy-making forum in Jordan for women’s issues and rights, the JNCW comprises senior government officials, representatives of public and private sector institutions, the women’s movements, as well as NGOs. While reviewing legislation, the JNCW has initiated amendments to a number of discriminatory laws regarding women. It has also mainstreamed gender issues for the first time into Jordan’s Socio-Economic Plan 1999-2003. The JNCW aims to raise the profile of women both in national and local decision-making bodies. As Chairperson, Princess Basma worked with the JNCW to develop the first National Strategy for Women in 1993. She headed the official Jordanian delegation to the Fourth World Conference on Women (Beijing, 1995).

Princess Basma, who holds a Doctorate in development studies from Oxford University, is married to Walid al Kurdi and has two daughters and two sons.

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The UNFPA is the world’s largest multilateral source of population assistance. Since it became operational in 1969, it has provided more than $5 billion in assistance to developing countries. The United Nations General Assembly has thanked the Fund for its work since then in creating awareness of population issues, for providing systematic assistance to developing countries, and helping to improve the quality of human life.

Contact information:

Abubakar Dungus
Tel.: +1 (212) 297-5031
Email: dungus@unfpa.org