Data for Development - Armenia

What is UNFPA doing to help ?

Population dynamics and gender disparities
UNFPA began its support to Armenia in 1995. The fund provided technical support for Armenia's first national census since Independence, which was carried out in 2001.

This support to Census 2001 included:

• On-the-job training of local staff in several areas including demographic analysis, questionnaire design, table design, editing and coding of census data, and data processing software.
• Seminars on the preliminary results of a pilot census, preparation of the census questionnaires, cartography.
• Procurement of essential computer and office supplies.

According to RA Law on Population Census in 2011, the Population Census 2011 will be conducted in Armenia. UNFPA will provide technical and financial support to GoA to conduct the Population Census 2011. Among others there is still continued need for resource mobilization, strengthening the capacity for census-taking, advocacy, and integration of census into the broader statistical system and contribution to its development and sustainability.

Because of Armenia's problems with depopulation and ageing, UNFPA plans further support to improve capacity among institutions and to help develop policies for population and development.
In its current plan for Armenia, UNFPA aims to help strengthening national capacity to implement poverty reduction policies that take into consideration population dynamics and gender disparities.

With this aim in mind, UNPFA plans a wide range of activities, including:

• Promoting policy dialogue with the Government and civil society on population dynamics and its consequences.
• Supporting studies and research on the consequences of demographic trends.
• Mobilizing the public to support population and development issues.
• Supporting training on the relationships between population and development for ministry experts and facilitating their participation in professional forums.
• Providing technical assistance in policy formulation.
• Advocating and supporting data collection and analysis.
• Urging decision makers and opinion leaders to support the implementation of national population policies.

These activities will be coordinated together with other UN Agencies, particularly UNDP and the World Bank.

In 2005 UNFPA in collaboration with the Ministry of Labor and Social Issues and with close cooperation with the National Statistical Service of RA launched the Population and Development Strategies (PDS) Project 2005-2009 in order to face current demographic challenges and strengthen national capacity to implement poverty reduction policies that take into consideration population dynamics and gender.
The main expected outcome of the Project was ensuring national and sectoral policies and strategies take account of the consequences of population dynamics (low fertility, migration, and aging) and of their linkages with poverty and gender issues.

In order to reach the goals and objectives of the mentioned Project within the framework of PDS Project 2005-2009 the following wide range of activities were carried out:

1. The State Demographic Policy of RA 2009-2035 and its Action Plan was developed and introduced to GoA for approval.
2. Training of Trainers on “Introduction to Demography” and “Advanced Demographic Techniques” was conducted by foreign expert.
3. Series of Training courses on “Introduction to Demography” and “Advanced Demographic Techniques” for local officials and policy-makers by local experts for local officials and policy-makers by local experts was conducted.
4. Glossary on Demographic Terms was developed and published.
5. The following nationally representative sample surveys were conducted and results were published and presented:
   - Family Survey,
   - External and Internal Migration Survey,
   - Population Ageing Survey
6. Technical assistance was provided to conduction of Armenia Demographic and Health Survey 2005.
7. Higher education system of RA was assessed and the interdisciplinary course on Demography was established in Yerevan State University.
8. International Workshop on Formulating State Policies on Ageing was organized in April, 2009.
9. Number of advocacy events was organized to increase the capacity and raise the awareness of Government, Parliament, NGO representatives and Donor Organizations in the field of demography.

During 2010-2014 UNFPA plans to continue supporting the Government of Armenia in order to increase the capacities of governance actors and to promote policies to ensure universal access to health and other social services for vulnerable groups, especially women and youth, as well as to strengthen the national systems of data collection, reporting and monitoring of human development.

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