title: Friends of UNFPA
text: # Friends of UNFPA
  
  Friends of UNFPA is a non-profit organization, headquartered in New York, that supports the work of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the sexual and reproductive health and rights agency of the United Nations. Friends of UNFPA advances UNFPA's work by mobilizing funds and action for the organization.
  
  The organization was founded in 1998 to raise political and financial support within the United States for UNFPA. Initially known as Americans for UNFPA, the non-profit changed to its current name in 2012 to reflect its global scope.
  
  ## Work
  
  UNFPA works in 155 countries to ensure that women and girls everywhere have access to reproductive healthcare. In particular, UNFPA works to end preventable maternal death, provide family planning, and end gender-based violence, including practices like child marriage and female genital mutilation. UNFPA improves maternal health by increasing access to voluntary family planning, training birth attendants, and increasing access to emergency obstetric care. UNFPA assists countries in forecasting and supplying their needs for contraceptives, condoms, and other reproductive health supplies. Each year, the organization provides 500 million couples with contraception.
  
  ## Fundraising
  
  Friends of UNFPA mobilizes funds towards UNFPA’s worldwide programs and services as well as their campaigns such as Maternal Health Thematic Fund, Campaigns for Fistula and Humanitarian Relief.
  
  ## Leadership
  
  Officers of the Board of Directors:
  
  * Jacob Onufrychuk (Chair of the Board), Senior Manager, Breakthru Beverage Group.
  * Mari Simonen (Vice Chair of the Board, Nominating Committee Chair), Former Special Adviser to the Executive Director of UNFPA.
  * Connie Smith (Development & Communications Committee Chair Secretary) Speech pathologist and Co-founder of the Global Neighborhood Fund.
  * Monica Parekh (Treasurer) Senior Corporate Analyst at American Century Investments.
  