KUALA LUMPUR, May 23- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak is scheduled to deliver the opening address at the landmark global gathering Women Deliver 2013 Conference at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC) here, next Tuesday.
Malaysia is the first Asian country to be given the honour to host the global conference, which was previously held in London and Washington D.C .According to a statement from the conference’s Malaysia Media Secretariat today, the three-day conference would be the largest global conference of the decade to focus on the health and well being of girls and women.
It said the conference presented a unique opportunity to engage regional leaders and showcase Malaysia’s progress on the women’s issues.
Malaysian advocates including Women Deliver Asia Regional Director and Malaysian AIDS Council President Dr Raj Abdul Karim; Musawah Director Zainah Anwar; Former president of the Malaysian Medical Association Dr Mary Suma Cardosa and former Miss Malaysia Genevieve Sambhi will speak about the importance of girls’ and women’s health and rights.
Dr Raj Abdul Karim in the statement said Malaysia and the region had made truly impressive advancements in maternal and reproductive health in recent years.
“We should celebrate these steps forward but also recognise that our work is not done. Women Deliver 2013 will spur the conversations and action we need to ensure that girls and women are national, regional and global priorities,” she said.
The conference will also address a number of key issues affecting girls and women in Malaysia, across Asia and worldwide. The first day of the conference will focus on the economic and social value of investing in girls and women, and the second day would concentrate on the meeting the unmet needs for family planning services worldwide.
“With the 2015 Millennium Development Goal deadline rapidly approaching, the third and final day of the conference will call for putting girls and women at the heart of the post-2015 development agenda,” said the organiser.
The conference is expected to direct the world’s attention to Malaysia as international leaders join experts from Malaysia and the region will tackle some of the critical issues facing girls and women and inspire global action.
Among international key participants include Melinda Gates of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, UNFPA Executive Director Babatunde Osotimehin and High-level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda Member Graça Machel.
– BERNAMA
