United Nations Population Fund, UNFPA United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) What we do: UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, is the lead UN agency for delivering a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every birth is safe, and every young person's potential is fulfilled. UNFPA expands the possibilities for women and young people to lead healthy and productive lives. Since UNFPA started working in 1969, the number ? and rate ? of women dying from complications of pregnancy or childbirth has been halved. Families are smaller and healthier. Young people are more connected and empowered than ever before. But too many are still left behind. Nearly a billion people remain mired in extreme poverty. Reproductive health problems are a leading cause of death and disability for women in the developing world. Young people bear the highest risks of HIV infection and unintended pregnancy. More than a hundred million girls face the prospect of child marriage and other harmful practices, such as female genital mutilation or cutting. Much more needs to be done to ensure a world in which all individuals can exercise their basic human rights, including those that relate to the most intimate and fundamental aspects of life.