Ashgabat, 23 June 2009 – Five-day training on “Demography and Demographic Policy” for a group of specialists from line-ministries dealing with demography issues has been held on 15-19 June 2009 in Ashgabat.  Objective of the training was to increase the capacity of the national specialists from the Ministry of Health and Medical Industry, Ministry of Social Welfare, Ministry of Economy and Development, State Statistics Committee and the Institute of Strategic Planning and Economic Development in integrating demographic and population dynamics data for national plans and policies development.

The training programme has been developed based on the needs of national specialists, covering range of subjects and topics of the training programme curriculum.  Two UNFPA international consultants from the Center for Population Studies of the Economic Faculty of the Moscow State University named after Lomonosov, Mr. Elizarov and Mr. Arhangelskiy developed the training programme and facilitated the training.  The training was based on the interactive methodology, including business games, individual and group consultations, lectures, seminars, discussions, and tests. 

“UNFPA supports the Government of Turkmenistan in formulating, implementing and monitoring comprehensive population strategies as a cornerstone of sustainable development policies,” said Ms. Jennet Appova, UNFPA Turkmenistan Assistant Representative. “In the area of population and development, one of our main objectives is to strengthen national capacity in mainstreaming population dimensions into development strategies.” 

This training has been organized within the frameworks of joint project of UNFPA and the Institute of Strategic Planning and Economic Development titled “Capacity Development for Data Use in Development Planning.”

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UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, is an international development agency that promotes the right of every woman, man and child to enjoy a life of health and equal opportunity. UNFPA supports countries in using population data for policies and programmes to reduce poverty and to ensure that every pregnancy is wanted, every birth is safe, every young person is free of HIV/AIDS, and every girl and woman is treated with dignity and respect. 

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