UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador Visits Pakistan to Serve As Bridge Between Women of Pakistan, Japan

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — UNFPA’s Goodwill Ambassador in Japan, Yuko Arimori, undertook a week-long mission to Pakistan to see the work of UNFPA and to talk to women trying to improve their health, in order to relay their messages to their counterparts in Japan.

“I am glad that Ms. Arimori has come to promote international cooperation in the vital task of reducing maternal death and illnesses in Pakistan,” said Dr. France Donnay, the UNFPA Representative, as she welcomed the Goodwill Ambassador. “The reduction of maternal death is urgent because Pakistan loses one women every 30 minutes to preventable complications of pregnancy and childbirth, while about 3,000 cases of obstetric fistula occur each year in the country.”

“Greater international good will and cooperation can help prevent many of these deaths and injuries and deal with other population concerns by helping to meet the huge demand for family planning and for information and youth-friendly services for Pakistan’s young people of more than 24 million, aged 15-24,” said Dr. Donnay. “As a bridge between the people of Pakistan and their cousins in Japan, Ms. Arimori’s advocacy can help by increasing the Japanese public’s awareness of the reproductive health needs here.”

Ms. Arimori is a double Olympic medallist, with victories in Barcelona and Atlanta, in 1992 and 1996, respectively. Her final marathon as a professional took place on 18 February at the 1st Tokyo Marathon. It was a national event that was widely covered by almost all print and electronic media. As a Goodwill Ambassador since 2002, she has been an active advocate on gender and reproductive health issues to the Japanese public. She has visited countries such as Cambodia, Kenya and Ethiopia to learn of the peoples’ needs in order to serve effectively as an advocate and to support changes in the lives of women.

Explaining her mission’s objectives, Ms. Arimori said: “As a Goodwill Ambassador, I come, I listen and I learn by talking heart to heart with many women. I will then relay the wishes in the hearts of Pakistani women to the hearts of their sisters and brothers in Japan, so that together we can promote maternal health and the welfare of young people.” UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund; JOICFP and the Family Planning Association of Pakistan (FPAP) coordinated some of the activities of the mission.

During her mission, the Goodwill Ambassador visited UNFPA-supported projects in Mansehra and Muzaffarabad, where reproductive health services are being provided to rehabilitate earthquake-affected people. These government projects are jointly supported by UNFPA, the Japanese Government and some national non-government organizations.

In addition, Ms. Arimori visited the Ministry of Women Development’s Women Crisis Centre in Islamabad. She talked to clients about their challenges and about the services they received. She also held meetings with Government leaders and leading NGOs and discussed issues such as reproductive health, family planning, women’s rights and the needs of young people.

One of the projects she visited and bonded with the women was a poverty-reduction project in a suburb of Lahore, which is implemented by the Family Planning Association of Pakistan (FPAP). Ms. Arimori talked at length the women, about their progress and about their aspirations. She even bought some of what they produced.

One of those who spoke with the Goodwill Ambassador was a widow, aged over 60, who engages in micro-business to support herself and her family. According to FPAP officials, Ms. Rashida, a mother of five sons, took a loan of about 10,000 rupees to make and sell wallets, products she took to the market with one of her sons.