The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) paid tribute to Goodwill Ambassador Catarina Furtado for “23 years of service” in the fight for “the rights of women and girls”.
“For more than two decades, Catarina has been a tireless advocate for UNFPA and a global advocate for women and girls,” said the executive director of the UN agency for sexual and reproductive health.
“We thank her for her enthusiasm, dedication and compassion, and the tremendous impact of her efforts on the people we serve,” Natalia Kanem said in a statement released today.
UNFPA underlined that “As one of Portugal’s best-known media personalities, Catarina has used her platform to tell the stories of women and girls to a global audience”.
Since being appointed a goodwill ambassador by then UN Secretary-General Kofi Anan in 2000, Catarina Furtado has visited UNFPA programs in more than 10 countries, the statement said.
“It has been an honor and privilege for me to spend the past 23 years with UNFPA. Its mission flows through my veins, and the women it serves are my sisters, mothers and daughters. Their stories and rights are my motivation ,” he said. Catherine Furtado.
“From the survivors of domestic violence in East Timor to the survivors of female genital mutilation in Guinea-Bissau, the UNFPA programs I visited fill me with confidence and hope,” said the Portuguese woman, quoted in the statement.
Catarina Furtado was honored after speaking at a meeting for UNFPA’s global leadership in Almaty, Kazakhstan’s capital.
Source: DN
