Ulaanbaatar, 23 February 2022 -- UNFPA Mongolia has organized a Kick-off Meeting with Key Implementing Partners on 23 February 2022 at Blue Sky Hotel in Ulaanbaatar.

UN Mongolia Resident Coordinator Tapan Mishra presented the new UN Development System Reform.

"The ultimate objective of the UN Development System reform is to be able to deliver better on the 2030 Agenda. It fundamentally shifts the development system approach from assistance to cooperation to better reflect the nature of the contemporary relationship between Governments and the UN Development System. As such, the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) was renamed to the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework," said UN Mongolia Resident Coordinator Tapan Mishra.

"The event today will be the key step for prioritization and formulation of the UNFPA agency-specific country program together with the counterparts, and I believe you will have fruitful discussions and wish you much success," he highlighted.

UNFPA Representative in China and Country Director for UNFPA Mongolia Justine Coulson delved into UNFPA Mongolia's 7th Country Programme.

"When we develop a Country Programme, we think through areas of need that continue to exist in a country related to our mandate. Mongolia has made impressive progress in reducing the maternal mortality ratio and in increasing access to contraception and family planning. But we recognize that gap still remains," explained Justine Coulson. "We still have unmet need for family planning, particularly among adolescent girls. This is a priority that the government has also reflected on. Whilst there has been excellent progress in reducing maternal deaths, we did see an increase during COVID-19." 

UNFPA Asia and the Pacific Regional Office Programme Specialist Pafoualee Leechuefoung presented UNFPA's new Strategic Plan 2022-2025.

"The Strategic Plan 2022-2025 is UNFPA's global roadmap and call for actions to achieve universal access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights, realize the implementation of the programme of action of the International Conference on Population and Development. These are UNFPA's unique contributions to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. In addition, the Strategic Plan is focused on the critical pathway and strategy necessary to accelerate the achievement of the Three Transformative Results. These are ending unmet need for family planning, ending preventable maternal deaths, and ending gender-based violence and harmful practices," said Programme Specialist Pafoualee Leechuefoun.

After the presentation, Vice Minister B. Solongo stated, "As part of the Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs are of work, we cooperate in combating gender-based violence and protection of witnesses and victims, and crime prevention... In the future, actions are being taken with regard to gender-based violence and violence against children within the framework of the ministry's policy. Without viewing the issue a matter of a single law, such as the Law to Combat Domestic Violence, we are taking a more holistic approach to improve the legal framework."

The meeting saw the participation of representatives of organizations that work with UNFPA Mongolia. They include Advisor to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Social Policy J. Chimgee, Vice Minister for Justice and Home Affairs B. Solongoo, Chairman of the National Statistical Office B. Batdavaa, and Director-General of Multilateral Cooperation Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs D. Gerelmaa.