Governor of the city of Shymkent Gabibulla Abdrakhimov and UNFPA Representative for Kazakhstan and Country Director for Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan Giulia Vallese have signed a Memorandum on Cooperation.  Efforts designed to improve reproductive health of people, ensure quality education, leisure activities for young people and preventing domestic violence at home will be planned within the framework of the partnership.  Issues such as equality of women and men, health and social support were discussed in the meeting.

UNFPA has been putting a special focus on the Turkestan region and the city of Shymkent in the past several years. In particular, training sessions on the extended “Valeology” (school course on health) has been conducted to local school and college teachers. As a result, senior school children and students of the first and second years colleges have increased their knowledge of reproductive and sexual health. The additional chapters of the updated Valeology course contain information about gender equality, promoting intolerance of gender-based violence and harmful practices such as child and forced marriages. The new course also includes chapters on family values and responsible parenting.

The Y-PEER youth peer education network has been operating in Kazakhstan for fifteen years now. This year Kazakhstan’s Y-PEER network celebrates its anniversary. Furthermore, it was Shymkent where the network made its first steps on the way to becoming a nation-wide organization. In 2003 the Association of Business Women of Kazakhstan began to offer training to adolescents who then moved on to form the foundation of the future Y-PEER movement. The Y-PEER’s goal is to help their peers fulfill their full potential through leadership and volunteerism and to provide appropriate information about a healthy lifestyle, including responsible and safe sexual behaviour.

UNFPA has been providing assistance to the Ministry of Health in the areas of maternal health in all the regions of Kazakhstan since 1992. Capacity development trainings in maternal and reproductive health are conducted on a regular basis in the city of Shymkent and in the Turkestan region for the medical staff of maternity hospitals and primary healthcare facilities.

With the signing of the Memorandum the efforts to improve the quality of services provided in reproductive health, including that of young people, will continue and strengthen.