Pio Smith

Today on #YouthSkillsDay, we celebrate the creativity, resilience & potential of #youngpeople across #AsiaPacific. Equipping young people with life skills & #SexualityEducation helps them make informed choices, claim their rights, and lead with confidence. #EmpowerYouth @UNFPA…

📽️ In an exclusive interview with @CGTNOfficial on #WorldPopulationDay, @UNFPA Executive Director @Atayeshe highlights key priorities for shaping #China's demographic future: ✅Reproductive rights and agency ✅Greater investments for young people ✅Data-driven, rights-based…

Shiela's life changed drastically after an unintended pregnancy at 15, but she soon found vital community support at an adolescent-friendly health facility. There, she received holistic healthcare and peer support. 🔗 unf.pa/3GzrgUp #WorldPopulationDay #SWP2025

In places around the world, conflict is raging, international law is being trampled, and hunger and displacement are at record levels. Yet, peace is a choice. “We need to renew our commitment to the multilateral spirit of peace through diplomacy,” urges @antonioguterres.

Six months since the devastating global funding cuts, women in #Afghanistan are paying the price. In Bamyan, I met a woman who walked for hours in labour. A midwife saved her but 6 million could lose access to these critical services. Please donate NOW: asiapacific.unfpa.org/en/women-and-g……

💡 Investing in #girls can change lives. By scaling up education, life skills, sexual & reproductive health, and community programmes, we can: 🔸prevent 1.4M unintended pregnancies 🔸prevent 1.1M child marriages 🔸build brighter futures Together, we can empower girls and…

Young people in #SriLanka are leading the way in responding to the #ClimateCrisis – from the island's West Coast to the East Coast. Proud of @UNFPASriLanka’s work to build #youth resilience and integrate reproductive health & rights into #ClimateAction. Learn more 👇…

"One woman dies every two hours from preventable pregnancy or childbirth-related complications.” 🎥 Hear from @PioSmith_UN, Regional Director, @UNFPAAsiaPac about about the life-saving impact of @UNFPA’s work that he saw when visiting a remote health facility in #Afghanistan.

What a journey! After 8.5 years, today I bid farewell to @UNFPA and the @UN family. I leave with confidence that a brighter future for women and girls is within reach. I'll be rooting from the sidelines as my amazing colleagues carry our march of progress forward. ¡Adelante!

#DidYouKnow women around the world — including in #AsiaPacific — still can’t: 🟠 get contraception 🟠 say yes or no to sex 🟠 create the families they want As we mark #WorldPopulationDay, @UNFPA calls for a world where every woman has the power to make her own choices about her…

Congratulations to Varsha Deshpande and the International Union for the Scientific Study of Population, this year's #UNPopAward laureates. @UNFPA applauds their outstanding contributions to population issues. Find out more: unf.pa/unpa25

This is what hope looks like. Razia, a #fistula survivor from #Pakistan, shares a joyful moment with her daughter. Her smile says it all: Recovery, dignity and a new beginning is possible. On Int’l #DayOfHope, she is our reminder to turn hope into action, leaving no one behind.…

Can young people build the life they want? For too many across #AsiaPacific, the answer is no. The real fertility crisis isn’t birth rates - it’s denied choice. This #WorldPopulationDay, let’s commit to reproductive agency and real choice for all. Read my op-ed:…

👩‍👧‍👧3 women. 3 generations. From pressure to choice — their journey shows how views on childbearing are shifting in #India. True reproductive freedom means deciding if, when and how many children — without pressure, stigma or fear. Read their story➡️asiapacific.unfpa.org/en/news/one-fa……

🧡When women thrive, workforces grow stronger and economies flourish. @UNFPA's Coalition for Reproductive Justice in Business unites companies to invest in sexual & reproductive health at work. Together, we build healthier, more resilient workplaces. Watch the full video👇…

✨ Everyone deserves the power to choose if, when and how many children to have. In #AsiaPacific, progress means breaking down barriers: 💸 Tackling costs & job insecurity ⚕️ Expanding #FamilyPlanning access ⚖️ Advancing #GenderEquality 🤝 Ending discrimination 👶 Supporting…

During crises, midwives are often the only lifeline for women, delivering care with compassion, skill, and unwavering resolve. They do more than respond. They restore dignity, protect rights, and bring hope to the last mile. #MidwivesSaveLives

What does a ‘fertility crisis’ mean? This @fijitimes article cuts through the facts on the State of the World Population report. For the Pacific, the conversation must centre around rights, equity, and choice. Read the full article: fijitimes.com.fj/behind-the-new… Cc @UNFPAAsiaPac

Pleasure to join @Atayeshe at #FfD4 in Seville to highlight why investing in women’s health and rights is not just a moral imperative, it’s a smart economic choice.  Financing sexual and reproductive health must remain at the heart of the development agenda. #InvestInHer

Investing in the health and education of adolescent girls is not just a moral imperative – it is one of the smartest, most cost-effective economic moves policymakers can make. Let us not let the opportunity she represents slip through our fingers. #FFD4