DUSHANBE, July 6, 2015, Asia-Plus – On Monday July 6, Ms. Khairiniso Yusufi, Deputy Head of the Majlisi Namoyandagon (Tajikistan’s lower house of parliament) received Mr. Karl Kulessa, UNFPA Country Director for Tajikistan.

Muhammadato Sultonov, a spokesman for the Majlisi Namoyandagon, says the two discussed issues related to state and prospects of further expansion of cooperation between Tajikistan and the UNFPA.

Ms. Yusufi reportedly briefed Mr. Kulessa on the structure of Tajik parliament.

Mr. Kulessa, for his part, expressed satisfaction with the level of cooperation between Tajikistan and the UN agencies active in the country, Sultonov said.

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is a UN organization.  The UNFPA says it “promotes of the right of every woman, man and child to enjoy a life of health and equal opportunity.”  This is done through major national and demographic surveys and with population censuses. The data generated are used to create programs to reduce poverty and address issues concerning the rights of particular minority population groups.  The UNFPA supports programs in more than 150 countries, territories and areas spread across four geographic regions: Arab States and Europe, Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, and sub-Saharan Africa.

Since 1995, UNFPA has supported Tajikistan in strengthening the capacities of health professionals to provide reproductive and sexual health care, including to youth and other vulnerable groups, as well as assisting with the regular supply of contraceptives and other basic commodities.  Programs also develop national skills to collect, analyze and use reliable demographic information to plan and monitor development interventions, and respond to gender-based violence.