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UNFPA in Belarus
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) began working in Belarus in 1994. Each Fund’s initiative serves the global goal of promoting the right of every woman, man and child to enjoy a life of health and equal opportunities. The Fund builds on the national priorities and works in close cooperation with the Government of the Republic of Belarus, UN agencies, non-governmental organizations, international and national experts. The programmes of the United Nations Population Fund in Belarus cover the following thematic areas:
Reproductive Health
The United Nations Population Fund promotes national capacity building in developing scientifically grounded national and regional reproductive health policy and programmes based on high quality data on the population’s reproductive health and its needs through improving the system of indicators of the quality of and access to reproductive health services, establishing the system of monitoring and assessment of the population’s reproductive health, strengthening the capacity of healthcare administrators to use this data in decision making and the design of reproductive health policy and programmes according to the principles of evidence-based medicine.
UNFPA supports national initiatives aiming to increase the access of young people to reproductive health services by introducing youth-friendly approach into medical practice and training health care professionals in the basics of reproductive health counseling for adolescents and youth through conducting training seminars and updating the training programmes for physicians and nursing staff.
The United Nations Population Fund promotes improved links between reproductive health and HIV-related services to ensure the access of people living with HIV to the services and information on family planning and birth spacing, prevention and treatment of STIs, and safe sexual life. The Fund pursues this objective by training health care professionals in counseling people living with HIV on reproductive health issues, revision/elaboration of reproductive and sexual health protocols, increasing the awareness of the people living with HIV on their reproductive and sexual health and the relevant services offered.
Population and Development
The activity of the UN Population Fund in our country, just as worldwide, aims to promote the development and implementation of the national policy and programmes for the sustainable development of the state and the society based on the current population statistics and forecasts. UNFPA also strives not to stay indifferent to the issues related to the current demographic situation in the country, and those which are most urgent for Belarus at the moment.
UNFPA acts as a partner of the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection in implementing the National Programme of Demographic Security of the Republic of Belarus for 2011-2015. UNFPA works in cooperation with the National Statistical Committee of the Republic of Belarus to improve the quality of population data and access to this data. The Fund provided technical assistance in the preparation and conduct of the censuses of 1999 and 2009.
Gender Equality
UNFPA promotes the idea of equal rights and opportunities for men and women. In particular, the Fund implements initiatives aiming to counteract gender-based violence and domestic violence as one of its most widespread varieties through the establishment of the system of inter-agency mechanisms, training stakeholders (law enforcement officers, social workers, health care professionals, NGOs, faith-based organizations) on addressing domestic violence.
Every year UNFPA coordinates the joint awareness raising campaign on the prevention of domestic violence for men, women and youth, which is supported by the partners from UN agencies, NGOs and ministries.
UNFPA partners with the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of Belarus in implementing the National Plan to Secure Gender Equality in the Republic of Belarus for 2011-2015.