Khartoum, July 14, 2009. United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) celebrated World Population Day in partnership with Asmaa Society for Development -- a civil society organization working to empower poor and marginalized women.

The all-day event commemorated the World Population Day under the theme of Responding to Global Economic Crisis: Investing in Women is a Smart Choice. Seven working papers were presented reflecting perspectives of government, academics and various groups working in women empowerment through microfinance.  A young woman and a woman working in the informal sector presented their experiences for discussion by participants.

 "Women and girls suffer the most during economic hardships," said Mr. Athanase Nzokirishaka, UNFPA Deputy Representative in Sudan. "We have to protect their rights by increasing social investments, especially in reproductive health," he added.

 
In his address before participants, Mr. Nzokirishaka remarked that educating girls and women and giving them microfinance brings tremendous and well-documented benefits.

The Network for Organizations Working in Microfinance participated in the event. The network was established in 2005 and comprises 160 member organizations. The network presented some of member experiences and the challenges facing them.

 Papers presented identified the main challenges facing microfinance for women as the high interest and administrative fees,   lack of consultation with groups working in microfinance in the development of plans and strategies and low rates of lending for women.

Furthermore, the un-acceptance by banks for non-traditional collateral was also cited as one of the challenges since poor women usually have no assets to provide as collateral.

 Representatives from central and commercial banks participated in discussions responding to concerns and points raised by presenters and participants. A proposal was presented to them to hold a workshop that involves all groups and relevant government bodies to forge a partnership that will be able to better address the issues of micro lending for women in Sudan.

 Since 1990, UNFPA and its national partners have been marking World Population Day with a variety of activities and events focusing on the importance of population to overall development strategies. This year, marks the 20^thanniversary of the Day and coincides with the 40^th anniversary of UNFPA and the 15^th anniversary of the historic International Conference on Population and Development that guides UNFPA's work.