Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, Oct. 25 / Trend H. Hasanov /
The support for sustainable development of Turkmenistan is one of the UN important challenges. The United Nations Development Framework (UNDAF) for Turkmenistan till 2015, approved and executed jointly with the government focused on it, Lenni Montiel, UN Resident Coordinator in Turkmenistan, said.
This document (UNDAF) is a strategic plan of the UN actions in Turkmenistan, a message said.
Joint efforts were aimed to preserve globally significant biodiversity of the Caspian Sea, sustainable land management and combating desertification, energy savings and combating the consequences of climate change for 15 years of cooperation between the parties in the area of environmental protection and efficient use of energy.
The UN also supports the Turkmen government in strengthening the potential of the national parliament, the Academy of State Service of Turkmenistan, improving local governance and creating an electronic control system for sustainable human development.
The progress was achieved in several joint programs to introduce international standards in the field of child immunization, protocols and procedures for salt iodization and flour fortification, the adoption of hospital rules, as well as safe child birth.
Turkmenistan is one of the first countries in the world which adopted a national strategy on reproductive health. It allowed to create and improve the services of reproductive health for men, women and adolescents.
"A recent national campaign to immunize children under 15 against poliomyelitis should be noted. It was conducted with the direct participation of UN agencies in Turkmenistan", the UN representative said.
Several UN agencies together with the Turkmen government promoted the development of young children in education, including basic education, as well as expansion of the access to information technologies at schools.
UN also provided support for the timely submission of the national periodic report by Turkmenistan to the UN treaty bodies and ratification of the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.
"We will continue to assist Turkmenistan in developing and implementing new laws and regulations in accordance with international standards, which will be aimed at achieving gender equality," Montiel said.
UN intends to continue assisting in the reform of the juvenile justice system in Turkmenistan. It is developing new travel documents for refugees and stateless people residing in the territory of Turkmenistan.
UN provides support to Turkmenistan to improve data collection, analysis and dissemination through the implementation of international statistical standards, as well as the preparation and conduct of the population census and housing fund, scheduled for 2012.
"The implementation of projects in the field of border control and prevention of organized crime and drug addiction may also be noted as one of the important components of our joint work," a message said.