Supporting the Needs of Young People in Azerbaijan
What is UNFPA doing to help?
UNFPA has been assisting Azerbaijan since 1994. Its early projects concentrated on meeting emergency reproductive health and population needs.
Now, as a leading partner in implementing Azerbaijan's 2003 Social Programme of Poverty Reduction and Economic Development SPPRED UNFPA has been specially targeting vulnerable groups of the population, including young people and adolescents, in the projects to improve or provide medical services, counseling, advocacy and education.
Guided by the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) UNFPA has further contributed to SPPRED by establishing a network of RH centers and providing medical services on RH for all parts of the population. The services include:
• access to modern contraceptives
• encouragement of male involvement
For more on UNFPA's current projects in Azerbaijan.
UNFPA has been supporting education programmes, both within schools and outside them, as the main tool to address the reproductive health issues Azerbaijan's young people
UNFPA's Peer education campaigns (YPEER) is a particularly successful way of helping young people to get the information they need about sexual health and safe behavior. Under the YPEER scheme, motivated and well informed young people are trained to be able to pass on accurate and helpful information to those of similar ages and backgrounds. For more about the YPEER initiative in Azerbaijan, click here
In Azerbaijan, the YPEER initiative will be used to implement a programme for out-of-school education using international expertise. With its worldwide experience of providing reliable information on sexual and reproductive health to very different communities, UNFPA realizes the importance of adapting these initiatives to local conditions and sensitivities .
Because of the continuing tradition of male dominance in some communities, UNFPA recognizes that all activities being implemented for young people need to have a gender perspective. UNFPA is striving to involve men in comprehensive programmes on reproductive health particularly young military recruits and trainee policemen.
In its current programme for Azerbaijan, UNFPA is seeking to provide specific information and medical services, including counseling both within schools and outside them. UNFPA has been working with the Ministry of Education to provide education on these issues in all secondary schools across Azerbaijan.
UNFPA is also planning to expand the geographic coverage of its community-based services to the districts of Azerbaijan, which have not yet been covered during an earlier project cycle. Advocacy campaigns will be implemented through cooperation with mass media and local NGOs, such as the Youth Coalition of Azerbaijan and Azerbaijan Scouts' Association.
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