UNFPA celebrates Catarina Furtado’s 23 years of service as Goodwill Ambassador, global champion for women and girls

[Pictured above] Catarina Furtado visits new mother in maternity ward, Kutupalong, Bangla. The right to make essential choices, such as when and whether to become a parent, and to see a doctor, must be realized for all, she said. © Image courtesy of Catarina Furtado.

New York, 18 May 2023 - Today, UNFPA, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency, recognized and thanked Catarina Furtado for her extraordinary contributions during 23 years of service as a Goodwill Ambassador, fighting for the sexual and reproductive health and rights of women and girls worldwide.

"For more than two decades, Catarina has been a tireless advocate of UNFPA and a global champion of women and girls," said UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem. "We thank her for her enthusiasm, dedication and compassion, and for the enormous impact of her efforts on the people we serve."

As one of Portugal's best-known media personalities, Catarina has used her platform to tell the stories of women and girls to global audiences. Since being appointed a Goodwill Ambassador in 2000, she has traveled to UNFPA programmes in over 10 countries to shine a light on the fundamental needs and rights of women and girls. She has witnessed what antenatal checkups are like for women in rural Haiti, learned about the contraceptive options available to Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, sat in on sexuality education classes for teenagers in India and talked to child marriage survivors in Mozambique.

"It's been an honour and a privilege for me to spend the last twenty-three years with UNFPA. Its mandate runs in my veins, and the women it serves are my sisters, mothers and daughters. Their stories and rights are my motivation," said Ms. Furtado. "From the domestic violence survivors in Timor-Leste to the the survivors of female genital mutilation in Guinea-Bissau, the UNFPA programmes I have visited fill me confidence and hope, because I have seen the incredible work that UNFPA's teams do, and that it is being driven by powerful, independent women and girls!"

Since 2006, Catarina's television documentary series, Príncipes do Nada, has introduced audiences to issues ranging from maternal health to adolescent pregnancy. And for the past 10 years, her organization, Corações Com Coroa, has worked to prevent gender-based violence and empower girls and women in Portugal.

She received the award after speaking at a meeting for UNFPA's global leadership in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Resources for media:

• A short video about Catarina Furtado's work with UNFPA is available here.
• Photos are available upon request.
• For interviews or more information, please contact: Eddie Wright: [email protected] +1 917 831 2074

About UNFPA

UNFPA is the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency. UNFPA's mission is to deliver a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person's potential is fulfilled. UNFPA calls for the realization of reproductive rights for all and supports access to a wide range of sexual and reproductive health services, including voluntary family planning, quality maternal health care and comprehensive sexuality education.

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