The family planning world has lost a global champion. Babatunde Osotimehin, Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), died June 4, 2017. As UNFPA executive director, he led efforts to advance the Cairo plan adopted by 179 countries that recognized for the first time that women have the right to control their reproductive/sexual health and to choose whether to become pregnant. A former Nigerian Minister of Health, Dr. Osotimehin had been with UNFPA since 2011. He was 68.
In response to a 2016 interview question, “what would you say is the single greatest priority for UNFPA today?” Dr. Osotimehin noted, “I think it’s about making sure that we can empower young people to take charge of their lives, make sure they have access to information … make sure they have access to contraception, make sure they grow to their full potential. And I think if we do that, we reduce maternal mortality, we increase contraceptive rates, we increase girl’s participation, we increase motivation, we also increase women’s participation everywhere. And the world is a better place.”