The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Representative Office in Turkmenistan convened a consultative meeting with national partners on 16 October 2024 in Ashgabat, as reported by the Neutral Turkmenistan newspaper.
The meeting brought together a diverse group of government officials, parliamentarians, civil society organizations, academic representatives, and media outlets to evaluate the successes of the UNFPA Country Program (2021-2025), identify remaining tasks, and discuss priorities for future collaboration within the context of the 2026-2030 Country Program.
The meeting started with a plenary session followed by thematic group discussions on partnership development opportunities.
At the plenary session, representatives from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Health and Medical Industry, the State Committee of Turkmenistan for Physical Education and Sports, and the Institute of State, Law, and Democracy presented the achievements of UNFPA’s key strategic goals aligned with Turkmenistan’s national development priorities.
The focus was on advancements in reproductive health, including family planning, maternal and adolescent health, promoting gender equality, and empowering youth through support for physical education, sports, peace, and equal rights for girls and boys.
Concrete examples of successful Turkmenistan-UNFPA collaboration include:
- Maintaining a low maternal mortality rate
- Adopting the “National Strategy ‘Healthy Mother – Healthy Child – Healthy Future’ for 2021-2025”
- Ensuring high availability of reproductive health rooms with all family planning methods
- Adopting the “National Action Plan for Gender Equality for 2021-2025”
- Enacting the Law of Turkmenistan “On Social Services”
- Conducting a national sample survey on the health and status of woman in the family in Turkmenistan
- Conducting a census of the population and housing stock of Turkmenistan in 2022
Thematic groups discussed and technically coordinated potential partnerships in the areas of “Reproductive health and reproductive rights,” “Gender equality and youth development,” and interdepartmental cooperation among programs.
Activation in the field of youth policy is highlighted as a promising area for further cooperation.
The consultative meeting also served as a crucial platform for developing proposals on key areas of the UNFPA Country Program for 2026-2030.
The UNFPA Office in Turkmenistan was established in 1992, and during this time, five Country Programs have been developed in collaboration with the Government.
The constructive partnership between Turkmenistan and UNFPA has resulted in the country’s repeated election as a member of the UN Commission on Population and Development, including for 2024-2028, as well as a member of the Executive Board of the UN Structure on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment for 2022-2024.///nCa, 17 October 2024