The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and Sweden have expanded their partnership to invest in women’s rights and health at the local level and contribute to the demographic resilience of Turkiye. The “Municipalities for Women's Health” project has kicked off with the signing of the agreement between UNFPA and the Government of Sweden by Malena Mård, Ambassador of Sweden in Türkiye and Mariam A. Khan, UNFPA Representative in Türkiye on 28 May 2024.
ANKARA, TÜRKİYE - Women and girls, especially those living in poverty and are most vulnerable, may face difficulties in fulfilling their potential due to limited access to bodily autonomy and sexual and reproductive health rights and services, facing the risk of school dropouts and/or unemployment.
Investing in women's reproductive health is essential for social and economic development as it enhances women's health and reduces maternal mortality, boosts economic productivity through greater workforce participation and educational attainment, reduces poverty, promotes gender equality and the achievement of desired fertility. It also improves child health and development by ensuring healthier pregnancies and better birth outcomes.
At this point, municipalities can play a significant role in supporting women, through the wide range of services they can provide which can have a direct impact on the daily lives of citizens. Municipalities are also important in providing information and services while increasing local outreach capacity to women and girls, especially in hard-to-reach areas.
Within this scope, UNFPA Türkiye and Sweden will be expanding their partnership in supporting women’s rights and health through a new project. The project agreement between UNFPA and Sweden was signed by Sweden Ambassador Malena Mård and UNFPA Türkiye Representative Mariam A. Khan to kick off the “Municipalities for Women's Health” project for 3 years, from 2024 to 2027 with the support of Turkish Family Health and Planning Foundation (TAPV).
The project aims to empower women’s health by collaborating with municipalities to ensure accessible and quality information and services, provided for women and girls at reproductive age (15-49 years old) especially living in poverty and in vulnerable situations in Türkiye through supporting the capacity of municipalities to improve inclusive and empowering local services to women. In this scope, structural capacity building programmes will be conducted for the relevant municipality personnel including HR, training, guidelines and SOPs, outreach and counseling targeting the most vulnerable. Dissemination of knowledge products and experiences to other municipalities will be also envisaged.
