Permanent Secretary, Office of the Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs, Yogesh Karan this afternoon (15/08/22) received a courtesy call from the new Director and Representative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Pacific Island Countries, Mr Iori Kato. He was accompanied by UNFPA Pacific's Deputy Director, Ms Saira Shameem.
Mr Karan congratulated Mr Kato and wished him well as he assumed his new role, and reaffirmed the Fijian Government’s continued partnership with UNFPA.
He acknowledged UNFPA Pacific Office for supporting the Fijian Government’s efforts in three main areas which include: “Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment, health services and education, population dynamics to strengthen statistical systems that inform national, sectoral policies and priorities.”
He thanked UNFPA for assisting Fiji during times of need, particularly through the provision of humanitarian assistance during natural disasters (Tropical Cyclone Ana and TC Yasa) and for the support towards Fiji’s national response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
PS Karan noted that UNFPA’s work aligns with Fiji’s sustainable development priorities outlined in the 5-year and 20-year National Development Plan.
During the discussions, he highlighted that Fiji’s partnership with the United Nations (UN) Agencies like UNFPA in the region is a key factor in complementing collaborative efforts to achieve sustainable economic recovery and climate resilience.
He emphasised that the newly launched 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific outlines priorities and opportunities for partnership with UN agencies in advancing regional prosperity.
He said with UNFPA’s impressive work undertaken within the region, together with Mr Kato’s extensive leadership experience, the partnership between the Fijian Government and UNFPA will grow to new heights.
In response, UNFPA Director and Representative, Mr Iori Kato said the UNFPA Pacific Sub-Regional Office, through a multi-country approach, is strengthening its presence in Fiji and in the Pacific as part of the new Multi-Country Programme of 2023 – 2027.
He said the new programme will explore common areas of opportunities that are based on needs and the development priorities of Fiji, with country consultations due to begin soon, both with the government implementing partners as well as civil society organisations.
Mr Kato said UNFPA Pacific welcomes partnership with the Fijian Government especially in expanding reach to remote and hard-to-reach rural areas and outlying islands and further increasing accessibility to health services and education opportunities.
He mentioned that UNFPA Pacific looks forward to exploring opportunities with Fiji for collaboration in implementing the National Climate Change Policy, particularly in line with the three policy pillars of human rights, gender-responsiveness, and data, towards improving national Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights and elimination of Gender-based Violence outcomes.
He said UNFPA relies on Fiji’s strong leadership in the Pacific, to advocate for the achievement of universal access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights; reduction of maternal mortality and morbidity; acceleration of progress on the ICPD and Sustainable Development Goals agenda; and improvement in the lives of all women, adolescents and youth in the Pacific.
Mr. Kato has spent the last 20 years in the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), International Organization for Migration (IOM), and United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA); he was previously UNFPA's Representative for the Philippines from 2018-2020.
