Pio Smith
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Articles by Pio Smith
A chance to turn the tide
THE world has spent more than 40 years learning what works in the AIDS response. For the Pacific, with its long tradition of collective action in tackling shared challenges, those hard-won lessons could help prevent today’s growing HIV epidemics from becoming a much larger crisis. The recent surge of international attention to Fiji’s HIV epidemic has carried uncomfortable echoes of an earlier era of AIDS. A rapid rise in new infections. A national crisis declaration.
Online safety of women and girls is a test of regional leadership
Digital safety is emerging as a new test of regional governance and security. Across Asia and the Pacific, technology is increasingly being exploited to monitor and silence women and undermine social cohesion, including through AI-generated deepfakes and a growing misogynistic rhetoric warping attitudes held by boys and young men. Widespread under-reporting and the absence of agreed definitions and methodologies have hampered our efforts to understand the true extent of this harm.
Why aid workers need protection
A health worker with a UNFPA staffer in earthquake-hit Myanmar. UNFPA From flood-hit villages in Nepal to conflict-affected areas in Myanmar, midwives, doctors and community responders save lives. These humanitarians are the first to arrive and the last to leave when a crisis strikes. They work in conflict zones, climate disaster areas and displacement camps, often with scarce resources and under constant threat of violence.
Why health workers need urgent protection and funding
F rom flood-hit villages in Nepal to conflict-affected areas in Myanmar, midwives, doctors and community responders save lives. These humanitarians are the first to arrive and the last to leave when crisis strikes. They work in conflict zones, climate disaster areas and displacement camps, often with scarce resources under the constant threat of violence. In Myanmar alone, millions of women and girls remain displaced, both within the country and in neighboring states.
Women’s health is under attack - protecting it is the smart investment for everyone
As conflict, disaster and displacement rise globally and aid budgets shrink, one truth is becoming harder to ignore. Women and girls are losing access to basic health services, putting their lives at risk. And the starker reality is that the long-term impacts will be felt far beyond national borders. Earlier this year, the United States withdrew over US$330 million in funding from UNFPA, the UN’s sexual and reproductive health agency.
Women’s health is under attack - protecting it is the smart investment for everyone
As conflict, disaster and displacement rise globally and aid budgets shrink, one truth is becoming harder to ignore. Women and girls are losing access to basic health services, putting their lives at risk. And the starker reality is that the long-term impacts will be felt far beyond national borders. On May 9, the United States confirmed it will no longer fund UNFPA, the UN’s sexual and reproductive health agency, after withdrawing some US$335 million in funding earlier this year.
No turning back: A pivotal moment for women and girls in Asia-Pacific
On International Women's Day, Asia-Pacific Regional Director for UNFPA, Pio Smith calls for urgent action to protect hard-won gains in gender equality, expand access to sexual and reproductive health services, end gender-based violence, and promote women's leadership, ensuring that progress is not reversed but accelerated for future generations. Thirty years ago, the world made a promise: gender equality for all.
Call to protect women from online violence
The internet has revolutionized our lives, offering unprecedented opportunities for connection, learning and empowerment. Yet the digital revolution has a sinister side: the growing threat of technology-facilitated gender-based violence. A recent global study found that nearly 60 percent of women had experienced one or more forms of online harm. For millions of women and girls, digital spaces are fraught with risks that echo and amplify the violence they already face offline.
Aging with dignity in Asia-Pacific
There is a saying that getting older isn’t losing one’s youth; it’s just a new phase of life full of chances and strength. This positive outlook is what the world needs most as we marked the International Day of Older Persons last Oct. 1. We need to reimagine how we can empower older people to ensure they age with dignity and live fulfilling lives. True, the world is undergoing a profound demographic transformation.
Aging with dignity in Asia-Pacific
There is a saying that getting older isn’t losing one’s youth; it’s just a new phase of life full of chances and strength. This positive outlook is what the world needs most as we marked the International Day of Older Persons last Oct. 1. We need to reimagine how we can empower older people to ensure they age with dignity and live fulfilling lives. True, the world is undergoing a profound demographic transformation.
A silver lining: Ageing with dignity in Asia-Pacific
span style="font-size:14.0pt">There is a saying that getting older isn't losing one’s youth; it’s just a new phase of life full of chances and strength. This positive outlook is what the world needs most as we mark the International Day of Older Persons, which fell on Oct. 1. We need to reimagine how we can empower older people to ensure they age with dignity and live fulfilling lives. True, the world is undergoing a profound demographic transformation.
The world needs more humanitarians
Humanitarians put their lives on the line to uphold fundamental rights, like sexual and reproductive health, ensuring that every individual receives the information and services they need to maintain their health and well-being. Last Aug. 19, we honored their courage and commitment to protecting human rights in the most extreme situations. Protecting the fundamental rights to health and bodily autonomy remains crucial when disasters hit.
The world needs more humanitarians
Humanitarians put their lives on the line to uphold fundamental rights, like sexual and reproductive health, ensuring that every individual receives the information and services they need to maintain their health and well-being. Last Aug. 19, we honored their courage and commitment to protecting human rights in the most extreme situations. Protecting the fundamental rights to health and bodily autonomy remains crucial when disasters hit.
OP-ED: The World Needs More Humanitarians
By Pio Smith, Regional Director for United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Asia and Pacific Humanitarians put their lives on the line to uphold fundamental rights, like sexual and reproductive health, ensuring that every individual receives the information and services they need to maintain their health and well-being. Today, we honor their courage and commitment to protecting human rights in the most extreme situations.
The World Needs More Humanitarians
By: Pio Smith - Regional Director for UNFPA in Asia and the Pacific On World Humanitarian Day, the Regional Director for UNFPA in Asia and the Pacific, Pio Smith says preparing for the climate crisis needs collective investment in a network of humanitarian first-responders Humanitarians put their lives on the line to uphold fundamental rights, like sexual and reproductive health, ensuring that every individual receives the information and services they need to maintain their health and...
Power of data: Leaving no one uncounted or unaccounted for
Editor's note: Decision Makers is a global platform for decision makers to share their insights on events shaping today's world. Pio Smith is UNFPA's Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN. Thirty years ago, maternal mortality rates were made up of very rough estimates.
Bidan: Terus Bekerja di Tengah Krisis Iklim
Tulisan ini merupakan pandangan pribadi dari penulis. Opini editorial Pio Smith, Direktur Regional UNFPA untuk Asia dan Pasifik, dalam rangka memperingati Hari Bidan Internasional, 5 Mei 2024. Parapuan.co - Setiap tahunnya, tepatnya pada hari ini, kita merenung sejenak untuk merayakan kontribusi tak ternilai dari para bidan di seluruh dunia. Komitmen mereka yang tak tergoyahkan untuk menjaga kehidupan dan meningkatkan kesejahteraan perempuan dan bayi baru lahir sangatlah heroik.
Uniting for Global Reproductive Health Equity - World
By Pio Smith, Regional Director for UNFPA Asia and the Pacific The last thirty years have been marked by significant progress in women’s health. Maternal death rates have fallen by 34 per cent since 2000, and unintended pregnancies by 20 per cent since 1990. But as we push forward, we have to ask who is still being left behind. The data tell a troubling story. Women on the margins of society have yet to see significant change in their access to sexual and reproductive health and rights.
[OPINION] Data is crucial to preventing gender-based violence
Gender-based violence remains an urgent human rights concern in the Asia Pacific region. This year, as we mark the 16 days of activism against gender-based violence, we call for stronger investments in ethically collected data to guide policies and actions across Asia and the Pacific in combating gender-based violence.
Data is crucial to preventing gender-based violence
Gender-based violence remains an urgent human rights concern in the Asia Pacific region. This year, as we mark the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, we call for stronger investments in ethically collected data to guide policies and actions across Asia and the Pacific in combating gender-based violence.
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