Women and girls are at great risk in areas of crisis, where 60 percent of maternal mortality occurs. So how can we scale up reproductive efforts to victims of natural or man-made disasters, including flooding and conflict?
In an exclusive Devex interview, Dr. Babatunde Osotimehim, undersecretary-general of the United Nations and executive director of the U.N. Population Fund, talks with global development reporter Helen Morgan about the importance of working with countries and communities to increase resilience.
“The resources we have should not be siloed to look after just development — we need to ensure that as we build for development, we also build for resilience,” he said, adding that more can be done to help prevent flooding in areas prone to natural disaster.
Watch the clip above to learn more from Osotimehin about the need to ensure women and girls have secure livelihoods, are able to access family planning, and are able to engage in infrastructure building.
#WaterWindow is an online conversation to amplify the discussion on flood resilience. Devex, together with its partners the Global Resilience Partnership and Zurich Insurance Group, aims to shine a light on innovative solutions to tackle the issues faced by communities worldwide. Join us.
About the author
Helen Morgan
Helen Morgan is an Associate Editor at Devex. She has a background in human rights, radio and journalism, and has written for a variety of international publications while living and working in Buenos Aires, New York and Shanghai. She is now based in Barcelona and supports editorial content on campaigns and media partnerships at Devex. She is currently studying a master's degree in contemporary migration.
