As thousands gather for the annual meeting of the Commission on the Status of Women, a new analysis is raising questions about the future of the agency at its center: UN Women.
Last year, the United Nations proposed a merger between UN Women, which revolves around gender equality, and the UN Population Fund, or UNFPA, which focuses on sexual and reproductive health. The analysis lays out a starting point to get there — finding overlap in the agencies’ governance, donors, and reach, but differences in scale, cost structures, and programming.
“There is limited duplication and high complementarity,” the document states. “In 2024, UNFPA and UN Women played distinct but mutually reinforcing roles in advancing gender equality, women’s rights, and reproductive health across development and humanitarian contexts.”
About the author
Elissa Miolene
Elissa Miolene covers U.S. foreign assistance from Washington, D.C. She previously covered education at The San Jose Mercury News, and has written for The Wall Street Journal, the San Francisco Chronicle, and other news outlets across the world. Before shifting to journalism, Elissa led communications for aid agencies in the United States, East Africa, and South Asia.
Search for articles
Most Read
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5