UNFPA

United Nations Population Fund

Mandate

UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, delivers a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every birth is safe, every young person's potential is fulfilled.

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.

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.

The goals of UNFPA - achieving universal access to sexual and reproductive health (including family planning), promoting reproductive rights, reducing maternal mortality and accelerating progress on the ICPD agenda and MDG 5 - are inextricably linked. UNFPA also focuses on improving the lives of youths and women by advocating for human rights and gender equality and by promoting the understanding of population dynamics. Population dynamics, including growth rates, age structure, fertility and mortality and migration have an effect on every aspect of human, social and economic progress. And sexual and reproductive health and women's empowerment all powerfully affect and are influenced by population trends.

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:

• 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 15.7 (2009-2011);
• Establishment of 75 Family planning units in the country, which provide medical counseling service and modern contraceptives that supported:
  • increase of the modern contraceptive prevalence rate from less than 1 per cent (1994) to 27 per cent (2010);
  • 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);
• Introduction of demography course into the Yerevan State University curriculum of Master’s Degree programmes;
• Implementation of the 2010 pilot census and the 2011 Census;
• Adoption and ratification of Strategy on Ageing Issues and Social Protection of Elderly and its Action Plan;
• Incorporation of healthy lifestyle and health education, including reproductive health, into curriculum of the secondary educational institutions (8-9 and 10-11 grades of schools);
• Support to development and adoption of the National Strategy, Program and Actions Timeframe on Reproductive Health Improvement (2007-2015);
• Incorporation of Reproductive health training courses into the curriculum of Yerevan State Medical University after Mkhitar Heratsi;
• 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 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:

• 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. 

• 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.

• 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