United Nations Population Fund

Mandate

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 started its work in 1969, and is on the ground improving lives in about 150 countries that are home to 80 per cent of the world’s population. Since then the number – and rate – of women dying from complications of pregnancy or childbirth has been halved. Families are 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.

Guided by the Programme of Action adopted at the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) and the Millennium Development Goals, UNFPA partners with governments, civil society and other agencies to advance our mission.

UNFPA anticipates and responds to tomorrow’s challenges today. We help countries use population data to assess and anticipate needs, and to monitor progress and gaps in delivering on our promises. We provide technical guidance, training and support to empower our partners and colleagues in the field. And we help ensure that the reproductive health and rights of women and young people remain at the very centre of development.

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. UNFPA pays special attention to sexual and reproductive health issues of young people, working also through Y-PEER Armenia network. 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, World Vision and others.

The major UNFPA achievements in Armenia include:

Identification, study and wide scale advocacy against prenatal sex selection in Armenia;
Establishment of “Traveling Gynecologist” and “Rapid Response System” in the country for hard-to-reach and poor areas contributing to decrease of maternal mortality ratio from 43.2 per 100,000 live births (1999-2001) to 17.3 (2010-2013);
Establishment of 75 family planning units in the country, which provide medical counseling service and modern contraceptives that supported: the increase of the modern contraceptive prevalence rate from less than 1 per cent (1994) to 27 per cent (2010); and decline of the abortion rate from 81 abortions per 1000 women aged 15-44 (2000) to 28 (2010);
Adoption of the Strategy of the Demographic Policy of the Republic of Armenia and its Action Plan (2009-2035);
Implementation of the 2010 pilot census and the 2011 Census, and, as a result, creation of household address database;
Adoption and ratification of Strategy on Combating the Consequences of Ageing and Social Protection of Elderly People;
Introduction of reproductive health and gender into mandatory curriculum of the military;
Adoption of the Republic of Armenia Gender Policy Strategic Action Plan for 2011-2015 and the National Action Plan to Combat Gender Based Violence.

Results to achieve through 2015

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.

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