UN General Assembly
2014

map for Papua New Guinea to continually improve and update the collection and management of its statistical information in order to improve decision-making. That includes embarking on a national biometric identification card system to record and maintain the population information of our citizens. Despite our economic growth, social issues remain a challenge. My Government values our women and girls, who constitute half of our population, as equal development partners. We are making sure that gender empowerment and equality continue to be a cornerstone of our responsible sustainable development. We therefore support the work of UN-Women. I am pleased to inform the Assembly that my Government has committed record funding of $10 million this year for various initiatives, including partnering with the United Nations Population Fund to make available 40,000 contraceptive implants as important intervention measures for the health of our women and girls of child-bearing age. That will be scaled up to $20 million by 2015. My Government, in partnership with our development partners, is also investing in upgrading vital midwifery skills, along