30 April 2021; Sinjar, Iraq - The Minister of Displacement and Migration, HE Evan Faek Jabro, and UNFPA Representative, Dr Rita Columbia, visited on 29 April Sinjar, in Nineveh province, to hear directly from women, girls and young people about their needs as they return to their homes.

Access to maternal health services and family planning was negatively affected by the COVID19 pandemic, especially for women returning to the area. Rita Columbia and HE Evan Jabro visited the Sinjar General Hospital where UNFPA supports the maternity ward. It was observed that the maternity ward requires expansion due to the increased demand for SRH services. 

Afterwards, Dr Columbia and the Minister went to the UNFPA-supported Women Social Centre and talked to women, girls, and young people about their visions for a healthy life and the way forward to move past the difficulties and hardship they faced under ISIL.

The Minister took the opportunity to praise the strength and resilience of women and in particular the Yazidi women. She spoke about the need to empower women and girls, especially returnees as they start building their lives in Sinjar again.

Dr Columbia reiterated UNFPA support to girls, women and young people in Sinjar and encouraged young people to be more involved in community development, and work with the civil society, international community and the UN agencies to rebuild strong communities in Sinjar.

UNFPA thanks its donors, Australia, Sweden (through the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency), Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), the European Regional Development and Protection Programme for Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq (RDPP II), Norway and Canada for their support to UNFPA work in Sinjar.

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UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, delivers a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person’s potential is fulfilled.

For more information or media inquiries, please contact: Salwa Moussa, Communications Specialist, smoussa@unfpa.org