DUSHANBE, April 14, 2009, Asia-Plus — The UNFPA Country Office in Tajikistan gave a press conference yesterday on occasion of the 40th anniversary of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the 15th anniversary of adoption of the ICRD (International Conference on Population and Development) Program of Action.
The event that also considered issues related to holding general census of the population in Tajikistan in 2010 was attended by the UNFPA Country Director Mathew Kahane.
Speaking at the press conference, Ms. Zuhra Ahmadova, Executive Director, UNFPA CO Tajikistan, noted that UNFPA has been largest UN’s agency since 1969. The agency now cooperates with the governments of more than 140 countries. UNFPA has provided assistance in an amount of more than 7 billion U.S. dollars to them to this date.
According to her, UNFPA supports countries in using population data for policies and programs to reduce poverty and to ensure that every pregnancy is wanted, every birth is safe, every young person is free of HIV/AIDS, and every girl and woman is treated with dignity and respect.
In its activity, UNFPA focuses on contributing to national development priorities and it cooperates with the Government of Tajikistan in the following directions: reproductive health; safe motherhood/family planning; adolescents’ health/preventing HIV/AIDS; and population and development. She noted that UNFPA also assisted the country to collect and analyze population data necessary for development of demographic policy at different levels that could help understand population trends.
