A CONFERENCE WAS HELD TO DISCUSS PROGRESS IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ICPD PROGRAM OF ACTION

On May 23, 2023, in the city of Turkmenabat, a conference was held to discuss progress in the implementation of the Program of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development of 1994 (ICPD).

Heads and representatives of relevant ministries and departments of Turkmenistan, the hakimlik of the Lebap velayat, representative offices of the United Nations Development Program and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) attended the conference, timed to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the Program of Action.

During the event, topical issues related to the progress of Turkmenistan in the implementation of the ICPD Action Program were discussed, including the achievements of the Program in the context of ensuring demographic sustainability in Turkmenistan, opportunities for accelerating progress towards universal access to reproductive health services. In this regard, the successes and priorities of the country in this area were noted.

The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan M.Byashimova noted during her speech that this forum is a good platform for discussing the achievements of Turkmenistan in the implementation of the tasks set under the ICPD Program of Action, and also helps to identify the most important issues of preparation for the Regional Conference on ICPD Action Program, which is scheduled for October this year.

It was emphasized that in Turkmenistan, concern for a person and his development, satisfaction of his vital needs is one of the priority tasks of state policy.

The conference participants emphasized the successful cooperation of Turkmenistan with UN agencies and institutions, primarily with UNFPA in terms of the implementation of National strategies and programs. It was emphasized that in Turkmenistan special attention is paid to the health of mother and child. In this regard, the National Program "Healthy Mother - Healthy Child - Healthy Future", aimed at improving the health of the population, is of great importance. The adoption of such large-scale documents with expert and technical support from UNFPA also makes it possible to further optimize the activities of the national health system and the social sphere.

It was emphasized that Turkmenistan is pursuing an active gender policy aimed at strengthening the principles of equal participation of women in all spheres of public and political life. Issues of gender equality, empowerment of women, which are topical issues, are also the basis of the Framework Program for Cooperation between Turkmenistan and the UN in the field of sustainable development for 2021-2025 and the Country Program Documents of all its agencies represented in Turkmenistan. In this context, the role of UNFPA in facilitating the conduct of a sample survey "Health and status of women in the family in Turkmenistan" was noted.

The work of the conference to discuss progress in the implementation of the ICPD Action Program continued in the framework of separate thematic sessions on family planning and reproductive health, demographic sustainability and gender equality, women's empowerment.