KATHMANDU: On the occasion of the Fourth National Family Planning Day, the Ministry of Health today honoured Giulia Vallese, the Representative of the United Nations Population Fund to Nepal, for her work in promoting family planning in the country.

She was among six other persons who were honoured with certificates of appreciation, shawls and bouquets by Dr Kiran Regmi, Secretary, Ministry of Health at an event organised by the Family Health Division (FHD).

The other feted on the occasion were Tek Bahadur Dangi, Arjun Bahadur Singh, Bidhya Shrestha, Dr Yashobardhan Pradhan, Dr LR Pathak and Dr BK Subedi.

“In recognition of your extraordinary contribution in the field of family planning, we would like to present to your this certificate of appreciation on the occasion of the Fourth National Family Planning Day organised on September 18, 2017,” read the plaque handed over by Dr Regmi."

The UNFPA country representative, who is moving to Kazakhstan after completing her close to five-year-long assignment in Nepal, has been promoting family planning since she arrived in the country in 2013. Among others, she constantly advocated for a human rights-centered approach to the promotion of family planning in Nepal in line with the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development that Nepal is a signatory to.

She also coordinated efforts among diverse stakeholders, including external development partners, to support Nepal’s commitment to the Family Planning 2020 partnership, including during the 2015 and 2017 Family Planning Summits in London.

Present at the event organized at the hall of the National Health Training Center, Teku, were Director General of Department of Health Services Dr Rajendra Pant, Director of Family Health Division Dr Naresh Pratap KC, Chief Specialist at MoH Dr Binod Man Shrestha and other top government officials as well as representatives from UN agencies, NGOs, youth organisations and others.