On 5 August 2003 the new project of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) was signed at the UN Office in Belarus. The title of the project is «Improved and Extended Access to Youth Reproductive Health Services and Information». The expected project duration is 4 years.
It is aimed at strengthening reproductive health of adolescents and young people and healthy lifestyle promotion (including enhanced demand for reproductive health services). It is planned to achieve the set objectives through improvement of health services, introduction of changes in the program of training and re-training of health professionals and education sector specialists, elaboration of the relevant information and educational model within the system of the general secondary education as well as through enhanced participation of non-governmental organizations in strengthening young people's reproductive health.
The project has been developed and will be implemented jointly by the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus, the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Belarus, the International Charitable Organization «Hope-Express» and UNFPA. Technical support will be provided by UNFPA.
The total budget of the project is $504,230.
The ceremony of signing the UNFPA project was attended by Dr Peer Sieben, UNFPA Country Director for Belarus, Neil Buhne, UN Resident-Coordinator in Belarus, V.V. Kolbanov, First Deputy Minister of Health of the Republic of Belarus, T.N. Kovaleva, Deputy Minister of Education of the Republic of Belarus, M.I. Sobol, «Hope-Express» Chairperson, L.I. Matush, Head of Maternity and Childhood Department of the Belarus Ministry of Education and G.V.Butovskaya, Head of Humanitarian Cooperation Department of the Belarus Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
