Accra, April 3, GNA - The Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Ms Thoraya Ahmed Obaid is to pay a seven-day visit to the country, beginning Sunday April 4. The visit primarily is to enable her attend UNFPA's Regional Retreat on "Promoting Human Rights through Culturally Sensitive Approaches."

A statement signed by Moses Mukasa, UNFPA Representative in Ghana, said while in the country Ms Obaid would pay a courtesy call on President John Agyekum Kufuor.

The Executive Director of the UNFPA would also hold discussions with members of the National Population Council, and meet officials of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Health and Women and Children's Affairs. She will also interact with her colleagues Heads of UN Agencies in the Country and meet with the staff of UNFPA-Ghana. Ms Obaid will also visit UNFPA funded projects at Amasaman in the Ga District in the Greater Accra Region and New Abirem in the South Kwahu District in the Eastern Region. The statement said the UNFPA Regional Retreat is to assist country offices in exploring, developing and implementing culturally sensitive approaches to promote population, reproductive health and right issues, including HIV/AIDS prevention in their programmes.

The retreat will also address how to engage various cultural and religious communities in dialogue, partnerships and joint programming. The statement said the programme will create an enabling environment to strengthen the implementation of International Conference on Population and Development Plan of Action as well as explore ways to eliminate or neutralise resistance to it. The aim is to help build bridges between local cultural values, religions and universal human rights and gender standards. UNFPA representatives and national staff from 15 African Countries would attend the retreat to be facilitated by Professor Abdullah Ahmed an-Na'im, a renowned Professor of Law at Emory University, Atlanta, USA and a noted authority on Human Rights and Culture.