UNFPA partners discuss priorities of partnership

UNFPA, United Nations Population Fund and the Government partners have discussed priorities of partnership at the Programme Review Meeting today. More than 50 representatives of the ministries and departments of the Government of Turkmenistan, UN agencies, development partners and public organizations gathered to conduct a midterm review of the joint Country Programme Action Plan for 2016-2020 and establish the priorities until the end of the Programme.

Mr. Muhammet Ergeshov, Head of the Treatment and prevention department of the Ministry of Health and Medical Industry of Turkmenistan, welcomed the participants of the meeting. Representative of the Health Ministry noted the dynamic and highly productive partnership between UNFPA and the Government in the area of women, men and young people’s reproductive health. “Today’s meeting will allow us to celebrate the achievements of our partnership, but also highlight the lessons learned to help us identify more effective ways forward in achieving the goals of our programme,” said Mr. Ergeshov.

In her opening statement, Ms. Bayramgul Garabayeva, UNFPA Assistant Representative in Turkmenistan thanked the partners for forward-looking cooperation. She noted that in Turkmenistan, this is the fourth Country Programme Action Plan signed with the Government of Turkmenistan, which is fully in line with the national development priorities.

“In the context of the new partnership, UNFPA takes the role of a facilitator of innovative approaches to development, rather than a donor agency,” said UNFPA Assistant Representative. “In this regard, the Co-financing Agreement, which was signed on 12 December 2015 serves as a good basis for such partnership.”

Ms. Garabayeva also introduced the new UNFPA Country Director for Turkmenistan Ms. Giulia Vallese. Ms. Vallese presented the global priorities of UNFPA, including the new Strategic Plan for 2018-2021.

UNFPA Country Director presented the reinforced vision of UNFPA until 2030 – Achieving universal access to reproductive health and reproductive rights. The agency aims to achieve the goal through three transformative results of 1) ending the unmet need for family planning, 2) ending preventable maternal deaths, and 3) ending the gender-based violence and promoting the rights of women and girls. The new Strategic Plan is a way to strengthen the interlinkages between the support for the reproductive health, gender equality and population dynamics areas.

Ms. Vallese noted that the current Country Programme Action Plan of Turkmenistan is very much in line with the new Strategic Plan. In view of this, UNFPA Country Director reaffirmed UNFPA’s commitment to supporting the national priorities of the Government of Turkmenistan.

In her welcoming statement, Ms. Shemshat Atajanova, Head of the Human Rights Department of the National Institute of Democracy and Human Rights (NIDHR) under the President of Turkmenistan, also outlined the history of fruitful collaboration of the Government with UNFPA in fulfilling the international human rights obligations of Turkmenistan.

The Government partners then highlighted the results and achievements of joint efforts and work in four core areas since 2016.

Key results in the area of maternal and reproductive health included:

The Government’s full financial ownership since 2017 in increasing the access of women and couples to reproductive health commodities and contraceptives, which has a direct impact on improving the maternal health in the country;
Establishment of the state-private Coordination Committee on ensuring universal access to reproductive health commodities. New UNFPA initiated partnership between the government and private sector will reduce the gap in women’s access to reproductive health services, enabling them to realize their reproductive rights, especially those furthest behind.
Establishment of the national cancer registry, as UNFPA partners with the Ministry of Health and Medical Industry of Turkmenistan on the latest methods of prevention and treatment, as well as data collection in cervical cancer.
The Government introduced a new government-sponsored vaccine for 9-year old girls and boys against Human Papillomavirus (HPV), a virus that causes cervical cancer, which will have an impact on the reproductive health of women in Turkmenistan.

In the area of gender equality, main achievements were highlighted on:

Effective intersectoral implementation of the National Action Plan on Gender Equality in Turkmenistan is successfully being implemented, and the Monitoring and Evaluation system that was created with UNFPA support to help measure the results of the NAP;

In the area of data for development, the partners reported that:

Turkmenistan adopted all 17 Sustainable Development Goals, with its targets and indicators; and together with UNFPA partners continue the methodological work in adapting and integrating the relevant SDG indicators into the national development programmes;

Key achievements in the area of investing in young people and adolescents included:

The launch of the Youth Center in the capital with focus on promoting healthy living and leadership skills among adolescents. Partnership continues in expanding such youth centers to all regions of the country.

All partners further discussed and presented the priorities for the next years of the programme, which continue focusing on women, young people’s and couple’s health and well-being.

Ms. Giulia Vallese made her concluding remarks thanking the Government and development partners, as well as the public organizations and young leaders who were present at the meeting to discuss the priorities of partnership in Turkmenistan. Ms. Vallese highlighted the importance of intersectoral collaboration in achieving the results of the Country Programme Action Plan. UNFPA Country Director reiterated UNFPA’s commitment to assisting the Government of Turkmenistan in fulfilling the international human rights obligations and meeting the national development goals.