Baghdad, Iraq, 24 February 2020 - UNFPA held on 23-24 February, a two-day meeting with donors, government entities and potential implementing partners in Erbil, in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, to introduce to them the UNFPA new Country Programme Document and discuss the development of its implementation framework.

The meeting was attended by more than 50 representatives from the ministries of Planning, Youth, Education and Labour and Social Affairs at both the Federal and Kurdistan Region of Iraq’s level, from donors, sister UN agencies, academics, and civil society organisations.

Addressing the participants, UNFPA Representative to Iraq, Dr Oluremi Sogunro, said: “With this new country programme country document, it will not be business as usual: we shall be results driven. We will work as partners to achieve results. Therefore, and for partnerships to function at its best, we will develop a shared vision and determine the contribution of each partner to ensure that government achieves its results, especially the results they committed to at the Nairobi Summit.”

On the first day, the UNFPA team presented to the attendees the Fund’s framework for the reproductive health, gender and gender-based violence, youth, as well as the population and development programmes, with contribution from the monitoring and evaluation and the communications teams.

The presentations were followed by a deeper group thematic discussion on the expectations and strategies for each of the different programmes.

On the second day, the thematic groups held discussions with the programmes team on what can be offered to women, girls, and youth on policy making but also services.

The stakeholders’ meeting was preceded with the launch of the CPD on 20 February in an official ceremony at the Ministry of Planning. This third CPD has one main objective: to strengthen national capacities, in particular of health systems and woman machinery to address emerging development and humanitarian needs, and to ensure that no one is left behind.

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

For more information or media inquiries please contact:

Salwa Moussa, Communications Specialist, smoussa@unfpa.org, 00964 780 917 1035