UNFPA

United Nations Population Fund

Mandate

UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, is aninternational development agency that promotes the right of every woman, man and child to enjoy a life of health and equal opportunity. UNFPA supports countries in using population data for policies and programmes to reduce poverty and to ensure that every pregnancy is wanted, every birth is safe, every young person is free of HIV, and every girl and woman is treated with dignity and respect.

UNFPA is a subsidiary organ of the UN General Assembly. It has begun its operations in 1969. Currently, from its headquarters in New York and a global network of 129 offices, UNFPA supports the development priorities of 155 countries, territories and areas. UNFPA is the world's largest multilateral source of population assistance to developing countries. About a quarter of all population assistance from donor nations to developing countries is channeled through UNFPA. UNFPA is also a leading agency in terms of expertise in data collection and population analysis.

The mandate of UNFPA is (1) to build the knowledge and the capacity to respond to needs in population and family planning; (2) to promote awareness in both developed and developing countries of population problems and possible strategies to deal with these problems; (3) to assist their population problems in the forms and means best suited to the individual countries needs; (4) to assume a leading role in the United Nations system in promoting population programmes, and to coordinate projects supported by the Fund.

Programme of Action that was adopted by 179 governments at the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) (Cairo, 1994), along with benchmarks added at the ICPD reviews, inform the eight Millennium Development Goals agreed by all 192 United Nations member states. UNFPA plays an indirect role in assisting countries to meet all eight of them, while being directly related to five of the MDGs, especially MDG 5 (improving maternal health) and MDG 3 (promoting gender equality and women's empowerment). These mutually reinforcing development blueprints guide UNFPA in its efforts to improve lives, support reproductive health and rights, and advance gender equality.

UNFPA in Armenia

UNFPA has launched its activities in Armenia in 1999, concentrating its assistance in following three mandated areas: reproductive health and rights, population and development strategies, and gender equality. Among its main counterparts are the Government Ministries, National Assembly, National Statistical Service, medical and educational institutions, civil society organizations, and the donor community including other UN Agencies, USAID, OSCE, British Council, and World Vision.

The major UNFPA achievements in Armenia include:

• Establishment of "Traveling Gynecologist" and "Rapid Response System" in the country for hardto- reach and poor areas contributing to decrease of maternal mortality ratio from 43.2 per 100,000 live births for 1999-2001 to 28.5 in 2006-2008;
• Establishment of 75 Family planning units in the country, which provide medical counseling service and modern contraceptives resulting in increase of the contraceptive prevalence rate from less than 1 % in 1994 to 20 % in 2005;
• Introduction of reproductive health and gender into mandatory curriculum of the military;
• Introduction of demography course into the Yerevan State University curriculum of Master's Degree programmes;
• Adoption of the Strategy of the Demographic Policy of the Republic of Armenia and its Action Plan (2009-2035);
• Incorporation of healthy lifestyle and health education, including reproductive health, into curriculum of the secondary educational institutions (8-9grades of schools);
• Support to development and adoption of the National Strategy, Program and Actions Timeframe on Reproductive Health Improvement (2007-2015).

Results to achieve in 2010-2015

In the course of 2010-2015, and based on UNFPA's new programme cycle for Armenia approved in 2009, UNFPA will work to achieve the following main objectives:

1. In Reproductive health and rights area:

• Developed policies and legislation to improve access to high-quality reproductive health services and commodities for vulnerable groups;
• Strengthened capacities of health-care providers to provide high-quality sexual and reproductive health and HIV/AIDS prevention services;
• Increased awareness of and demand for reproductive health and family planning services among women, youth and adolescents.

2. In Population and Development area:

• Strengthened national capacities to implement the 2011 census, and to collect, analyze and manage gender- and age-disaggregated socio-economic data;
• Strengthened capacity of government institutions to develop and implement social policies and programmes.

3. In Gender Equality area:

• Increased national and local capacity to ensure gender equality and the empowerment of women, and to combat gender-based violence;
• Increased awareness and knowledge of the population on gender issues, gender-based violence, and sexual and reproductive rights.

CONTACT:

United Nations
Population Fund
UN House
14 Petros Adamyan St.
Yerevan 0010, Armenia
Tel.:  (374 10) 54 34 16,
        (374 10) 54 34 17
Fax: (374 10) 54 38 11
E-mail: hayrapetyan@unfpa.org
URL:    http://www.unfpa.org
            http://www.un.am