Message from Hind JALAL, Equatorial Guinea Resident Representative

I am thrilled to introduce UNFPA Equatorial Guinea first half-yearly 2024 Newsletter, as we embark upon our 8th Country Programme, which officially began on January 1, 2024. This new programme builds on our past achievements while addressing the challenges we have encountered with the aim to accelerate the unfinished business towards the three transformative results and the SDGs.

While celebrating the 30th anniversary of the ICPD agenda, together with the Government of Equatorial Guinea and the stakeholders namely the UN sister agencies, donors, INGOs, local civil society and the communities; we are leveraging on the accelerators to provide an effective response to the people we serve. It is my pleasure to share with you the main highlights of activities carried out during this first semester.

These activities highlight UNFPA’s unwavering commitment to reducing preventable maternal deaths, increasing access to quality family planning, combating gender-based violence, enhancing data collection and utilization, and empowering youth and women.

UNFPA Equatorial Guinea 8^th CPD 2024-2028 was approved by the Executive Board on August 2023. It represents an ambitious roadmap developed in line with the national priorities identified by the Government in its Agenda 2035 and in line with the new United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) 2024-2028, officially signed on July 4^th, 2024 and the UNFPA Strategic Plan 2022-2025.

Equatorial Guinea CO built strong ties with the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) who pledged support for the development of DHS-II.

Our partnership was strengthened with the French Cultural Center of Equatorial Guinea. A Memorandums of Understanding was signed to establish a framework of cooperation in the field of youth empowerment and the prevention and elimination of gender-based violence.

To advocate for continuous commitment to the ICPD agenda, UNFPA supported the development of the Voluntary National Report that was submitted to the HLPF during the July session and is supporting the development of the UPR to be presented in November 2024 in Geneva.

UNFPA CO trained midwives on the MISP “Minimum Initial Service Package” as part of the WCARO Leadership commitment in 2024. 97 midwives benefited from the training: 90 women and 9 men.

Another exciting development is that UNFPA supported the government in launching the preparation for the digitized Census 2025 and will continue to provide support throughout the process, ensuring that the census adheres to the highest international standards.

Significant progress was made by the M&E Group chaired by UNFPA. M&E members were designated to various coordination mechanisms to ensure alignment with result-based formats. The group also explored the UNINFO platform, addressing access issues and emphasizing its importance for future reporting. Achievements include the completion of the UNDAF 19-23 evaluation, the status of the 2023 results report, the inclusion of disability components in UNCT actions and the integrating gender, human rights, and QCPR markers into Joint Work Plans.

I express my most sincere gratitude to all our partners and look forward closely working with them to transform the lives of women and young people in Equatorial Guinea to make a lasting impact and to leave no one behind.

At UNFPA, we use population data to deliver a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe, and every young person’s potential is fulfilled.

With gratitude, Hind Jalal