Yangon - Continuing its inter-faith dialogue, UNFPA is holding a series of briefings to reach out to community leaders representing various faiths. Faith-based organizations (FBOs), religious leaders and religious institutions often function as gatekeepers for the communities they serve and are a respected source of information. The briefings are part of UNFPA’s on-going efforts to return in a useable way the wealth of information collected by the census to the people. This can then be used for development in their communities.

Kaori Ishikawa, Deputy Representative, UNFPA, said in her opening remarks that the objective of the national census is to provide information that anyone can use. She said that the briefings aim to inform participants of what information is available and how it can be used by community leaders for participatory and inclusive development and planning. 

The briefings are an important opportunity for UNFPA to hear the views of community leaders representing different faiths, including what information they need for local planning and development. The briefings with leaders from different faiths will continue until the end of November.