Hanoi, 13 September 2023: The new UNFPA Representative for Viet Nam, Mr. Matt Jackson, emphasised UNFPA’s strong commitment to supporting Viet Nam in areas such as sexual and reproductive health and rights, comprehensive sexuality education, youth development, population ageing, demographics and census work as well as prevention and response to gender-based violence.
Mr. Matt Jackson made the statement at his courtesy meeting with the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Viet Nam Mr. Do Hung Viet in Hanoi today. Mr. Matt Jackson highlighted that UNFPA highly appreciates its strong partnership with the Government of Viet Nam for the last 45 years. He congratulated Viet Nam on playing increasingly important and visible roles in international fora including its membership in the UN Human Rights Council, the UN Security Council and UN Economic and Social Council.
Matt Jackson also thanked MOFA for its important role in ODA coordination as a member of the Government Aid Coordinating Agency and thanked the Vice Minister himself and his officials for their support and collaboration with the UNFPA Viet Nam Office in developing and implementing UNFPA Country Programmes to date.
Mr Matt Jackson said: “UNFPA is very grateful for the partnership and cooperation with the Government of Viet Nam, in particular the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ support to UNFPA to help deliver our mandate. UNFPA will continue its support to Viet Nam to achieve the Government of Viet Nam’s aims on gender equality, youth development and sexual and reproductive health, as well as broader efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.”
For his part, the Vice Minister, Mr. Do Hung Viet highly appreciated the strong support from the United Nations to Vietnam over the past years, especially during the most difficult periods after the war and during the Doi Moi (Reform) process. He added that Viet Nam is now in a better position and the country is making every effort to achieve its set targets for 2030 and 2045, in which the ultimate goal is to become a developed country. Vice Minister Do Hung Viet emphasised that at the current stage, Viet Nam welcomes advice and analysis from UN agencies, including UNFPA in particular on population, statistical data and ageing.
UNFPA’s interventions and initiatives in the next 5 years aim to achieve the transformative results of UNFPA’s corporate Strategic Plan: zero preventable maternal deaths, zero unmet need for family planning and zero gender-based violence and harmful practices. Rights-based, gender-sensitive, and people-centred approaches will be used, and interventions in relation to humanitarian preparedness and responding to the impacts climate change will be mainstreamed across all programmatic intervention areas.
Matt Jackson (he/him), a UK national, is the Representative in Viet Nam for UNFPA, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency, working to deliver UNFPA’s mission to ensure that every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe, and every young person’s potential is fulfilled.
Matt was previously Director of UNFPA’s London Representation Office. He has a background in diplomacy for sustainable development and climate change, including at the UK Mission to the United Nations in New York as Head of International Development and Climate Change, negotiating the Sustainable Development Goals.
With over twenty years’ experience, his career has focussed on gender equality, climate diplomacy, human rights, sustainable development and the transition to green economies at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris, and the UK Department for the Environment (Defra).
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For further information, please contact:
Ms. Dinh Thu Huong | UNFPA Communications | Email: dhuong@unfpa.org |
Tel: 0913301539
