The JEG members representing the UN Country Team, the Ministry of Finance and Economy, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population, the Ministry of Trade and Foreign Economic Relations of Turkmenistan, the State Committee on Statistics, the Central Bank and the State Bank for Foreign Economic Affairs of Turkmenistan agreed on the main goals and objectives of the Group and discussed approaches to promote SDG financing through various activities under the integrated financing framework mechanism. “The establishment of the Joint Expert Group on financing the SDGs in Turkmenistan today is another proof of Turkmenistan's readiness to fulfil its commitments under Addis Ababa Action Agenda and support global initiatives in the area of financing for SDGs at the national level. As expected, the work of this group will support the national efforts to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in Turkmenistan”, noted Ms. Natia Natsvlishvili, UN Resident Coordinator a.i. and UNDP Resident Representative a.i. in Turkmenistan. Implementation of the Integrated National Financing Framework (INFF) will contribute to the development of such strategic priorities of Turkmenistan as the development of the financial planning and budgeting, improvement of the investment climate and business environment, development of capital markets and the introduction of innovative financial instruments. The main objectives of JEG on SDG financing: Study of the INFF approach to financing for development, in particular, the implementation of the 2030 Agenda in Turkmenistan. Study principles and theoretical foundations of the INFF concept, the use of assessment tools such as Development Finance Assessment (DFA). Learn the experience of other countries on various forms and approaches to financing the SDGs, including those that implement the INFF approach; To facilitate a series of continuing education activities for national experts; To develop the strategy of the INFF implementation in Turkmenistan, including the development of Roadmap, support to the INFF inception phase, provide technical guidance, develop and provide practical policy proposal and recommendations.

Following the commitments made in Nairobi, Turkmenistan initiated the study using a global methodology developed by UNFPA jointly with Johns Hopkins University, Victoria University, and the University of Washington and Avenir Health.  Making the case for expanding choices “The Investment case presents three scenarios, and the results indicate financial and health gains in all of them,” said Mr. Mihai Horga, UNFPA International consultant who facilitated the study. The most favorable scenario envisages expanding the coverage and the contraceptive choices for women and girls.  This means that more women will be eligible to receive free contraception, and the reproductive health rooms will offer additional contraceptive choices.  If this scenario is followed, the investments will avert more than 680,000 unintended pregnancies and 22,500 unsafe abortions, thus saving more than $87,500 for the national public budget till the end of 2030 in purely economic terms, in addition to supporting the well-being of so many. Family planning is not only a matter of human rights. It boosts economic development and is a precondition for achieving Sustainable Development Goals.  When countries prioritize and invest in family planning, they promote healthier populations, more efficient health systems, and stronger economies.   Starting in 2017, Turkmenistan has taken over financial ownership to provide free-of-charge contraceptives for vulnerable women, previously supported by UNFPA.  This commitment contributes to maintaining progress on maternal health and ending preventable maternal deaths, which is currently one of the lowest in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. As the global pandemic threatens to reverse these positive achievements, it is crucial to continue investing in these areas. Should the ongoing investments continue, the unmet need in family planning could continue to decrease in the country. However, there are still about 160,000 women aged 15-49 who would like to prevent or delay their pregnancy but are not using modern contraceptives.  The reasons are different for each woman ranging from lack of information on services to lack of support from their parents, husband or communities, to ability to decide or purchase contraceptives by themselves.  Amid the global pandemic, UNFPA supports the Ministry of Health and Medical Industry of Turkmenistan in ensuring that the 95 reproductive health rooms countrywide do not experience a stock-out of the contraceptives.  Despite the global supply chain disruptions, currently, all reproductive health rooms are equipped with at least four modern methods of contraceptives.  “UNFPA congratulates the Government of Turkmenistan for staying true to its Nairobi Commitments and conducting the Investment Case on Ending unmet need for family planning in Turkmenistan by 2030,” said Ms. Giulia Vallese, UNFPA Country Director for Turkmenistan.  “Evidence shows that every dollar invested in family planning will yield more than $7 in financial returns for the public health system over the next nine years, in addition to empowering women to lead healthier and more productive lives.”   “UNFPA will continue partnering with the Government to accelerate progress towards achieving universal access to reproductive health, where the family planning needs of all women and couples will be covered, including those furthest behind,” said Ms. Vallese.  “Within the framework of the Government/UNFPA Country Programme  for 2021-2025 and the newly adopted National Strategy “Healthy mother – Healthy child – Healthy future”, UNFPA will support the improvement of a health financing system to ensure increased and sustainable financing and rights and choices for all women and girls in Turkmenistan.” Decision-making power and bodily autonomy Family planning is also central to women’s empowerment. Together with the Launch of the Investment case, UNFPA presented key findings of the State of World Population 2021 report, which focuses on bodily autonomy.  Dr. Tamar Khomasuridze, UNFPA Eastern Europe and Central Asia Regional Advisor on Reproductive Health, reiterated that one of the reasons why women continue lacking access to quality reproductive health services is due to their limited ability to make choices about their own body without fear of violence or having someone else decide for them.  “According to the report, nearly half of all women worldwide are denied their bodily autonomy, measured through the power to make a decision about a women’s own body (SDG indicator 5.6.1) and analyzing the laws in different countries that support or constrain decision-making power of women (SDG indicator 5.6.2),” said UNFPA Regional Advisor. In the countries of Eastern Europe and Central Asia, the share of women not fully empowered to make choices over healthcare, contraception, and the ability to say yes or no to sex is still significant: 19 percent in Ukraine, 23 percent in Kyrgyzstan, 31 percent in Albania and 34 percent in Armenia.  In Turkmenistan, nearly 60 percent of women cannot make autonomous decisions on these fundamental issues.  Beyond the three dimensions captured in SDG indicator 5.6.1, there are other aspects of bodily autonomy that are firmly addressed through international law and that violate fundamental human rights.  They include child marriage, “honor” killings, marital rape, reproductive coercion, denial in reproductive health education and “virginity” testing, among many others. “Our communities and countries will only be able to flourish when every individual will have the power to make decisions about their bodies and to chart their own future,” said Dr. Khomasuridze. “When women and girls can make the most fundamental choices about their bodies, they not only gain in terms of autonomy but also through advances in health and education, income, economic and employment opportunities and safety. These add up to a world of greater justice and human well-being, which benefits us all.” Download the Investment Case on Ending unmet need for family planning in Turkmenistan by 2030 Read the Global joint study “Costing the Three Transformative Results” Read the UNFPA Global State of World Population 2021 Report   For more information, please contact: Kemal Goshliyev, National Programme Officer on Reproductive Health goshliyev@unfpa.org

UNODC in Turkmenistan organized a series of trainings in Ashgabat from May 31, 2021 to July 6, 2021 to prepare social service providers to pilot new community-based social services as part of the UN-Turkmenistan Joint Programme on community-based social services. The training was organized with support of the UNODC HQ Prevention, Treatment and Rehabilitation Section (PTRS) and the USAID Governance Support Program.   The training was held in compliance with the Strong Families Programme and aimed at building capacity of social service providers to pilot three community-based social services led by the UNODC as part of UN-Turkmenistan Joint Programme, which are Social Services for Parents with Addictions, Social Services for Adolescents at Risk of Contact with Criminal Justice and Social Service for Families with Children in Difficult Life Situations. During the five-day intensive training, 20 people from 7 governmental and non-governmental social service providers enhanced their knowledge and improved their professional preparation to carry out group sessions with families in Ashgabat.   The Strong Families Programme, designed for challenged settings, provides an evidence-informed prevention response to substance use, youth violence and crime by building family skills. These skills help with healthy and safe development of children from both genders. The programme was adapted to local context to serve families in difficult life situations. The training aimed to prepare specialists to help parents in improving their confidence in family management skills, improving parenting skills, improving child behavior and increasing their capacity to cope with stress. It is expected that social service providers in velayats will also have an opportunity to receive training according to the Strong Family Programme in August as UNODC aims to pilot new community-based social services with national partners in the cities of Turkmenabat and Mary as well.      The Joint Programme “Improving the system of social protection through the introduction of inclusive quality community-based social services”, funded by the Joint SDG Fund, is being implemented by the partnering UN agencies, namely, UNICEF, UNDP, UNFPA, and UNODC and Government of Turkmenistan. The Joint Programme aims to introduce a new model of social services at the community level accompanied by relative legislative reviews and capacity building of national social service workforce. The lead national partner is the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population of Turkmenistan and the lead UN agency is UNICEF. Other key national partners include the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health and Medical Industry, and Ministry of Finance and Economy. Implementation period: 2020-2022. 

The decisions and actions taken during the next 18 months will determine whether pandemic recovery plans will put the world on a course to reach the globally-agreed upon goals that aim to boost economic growth and social well-being while protecting the environment. According to the report, which tracks global efforts to achieve the SDGs, COVID-19 has caused a major disruption to people’s lives and livelihoods. While progress to achieve the SDGs had been slow even before the pandemic struck, an additional 119-124 million people were pushed back into poverty in 2020. An equivalent of 255 million full-time jobs were lost, and the number of people suffering from hunger, which was already climbing before the pandemic, may have increased by 83-132 million. The pandemic has exposed and intensified inequalities within and among countries. As of 17 June 2021, around 68 vaccines were administered for every 100 people in Europe and Northern America compared with fewer than 2 in sub-Saharan Africa. Up to 10 million more girls will be at risk of child marriage as a result of the pandemic over the next decade. The collapse of international tourism disproportionally affects Small Island Developing States. The economic slowdown in 2020 had done little to slow the climate crisis. Concentrations of major greenhouse gases continued to increase, while the global average temperature was about 1.2°C above pre-industrial levels, dangerously close to the 1.5°C limit established in the Paris Agreement. Global flows of foreign direct investment fell by 40% in 2020 compared to 2019. The pandemic has brought immense financial challenges, especially for developing countries – with a significant rise in debt distress. The 2030 Agenda, adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. At its heart are the 17 Goals, to improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth – all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests. According to the Report, to get the SDGs back on track, governments, cities, business and industries have to use the recovery to adopt low-carbon, resilient and inclusive development pathways that will reduce carbon emissions, conserve natural resources, create better jobs, advance gender equality and tackle growing inequities. “We are at a critical juncture in human history. The decisions and actions we take today will have momentous consequences for future generations,” said Liu Zhenmin, Under-Secretary-General of the | United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. “Lessons learned from the pandemic will help us rise to current and future challenges. Let us seize the moment together to make this a decade of action, transformation and restoration to achieve the SDGs and make good on the Paris Climate Agreement.” Efforts to confront the pandemic have also shown immense community resilience, decisive action from governments, a rapid expansion of social protection, an acceleration of digital transformation; and a unique collaboration to develop life-saving vaccines and treatments in record time. According to the Report, these are solid foundations to build on to accelerate progress on the SDGs. Some additional key facts and figures: The global extreme poverty rate rose for the first time since 1998, from 8.4% in 2019 to 9.5% in 2020. Between 1 February and 31 December 2020, Governments around the world announced more than 1,600 social protection measures, mostly short-term, in response to the COVID-19 crisis. Pandemic-related shocks are likely to trigger a rise in stunting, which already affects more than one in five children. The pandemic has halted or reversed progress in health and poses major threats beyond the disease itself. About 90% of countries are still reporting one or more disruptions to essential health services. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on schooling is a ‘generational catastrophe.’ An additional 101 million children and youth fell below the minimum reading proficiency level, wiping out the education gains achieved over the last two decades. The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely affected progress towards gender equality: violence against women and girls has intensified; child marriage is expected to increase; and women have suffered a disproportionate share of job losses and increased care work at home. 759 million people remained without electricity and one third of the global population lacked clean cooking fuels and technologies in 2019. An economic recovery is under way, led by China and the United States, but for many other countries, economic growth is not expected to return to pre-pandemic levels before 2022 or 2023. The world fell short on 2020 targets to halt biodiversity loss and 10 million hectares of forest being lost each year between 2015-2020. While net official development assistance increased in 2020 to a total of $161 billion, this still falls well short of what is needed to respond to the COVID-19 crisis and to meet the long- established target of 0.7% of GNI. • In 2020, 132 countries and territories reported that they were implementing a national statistical plan, with 84 having plans that were fully funded. Only 4 out of the 46 LDCs reported having fully funded national statistical plans. According to the Report, the recovery effort will also depend on the availability of data to inform policy making. Ensuring sufficient funding is available for data collection, both through the mobilization of international and domestic resources, will be critical to these efforts. The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2021 can be found at: https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2021/ ABOUT THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS REPORTS The annual reports provide an overview of the world’s implementation efforts to date, highlighting areas of progress and where more action needs to be taken to achieve the SDGs. They are prepared by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, with input from international and regional organizations and the United Nations system of agencies, funds and programmes. Several national statisticians, experts from civil society and academia also contribute to the reports.   MEDIA CONTACTS UN Department of Global Communications Dan Shepard | +1 212 963 9495| shepard@un.org UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs