UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, is an international developmentagency that works with countries to protect and promote the sexual and reproductive health of women, men and young people. Globally, we work with governments to ensure individuals and couples have access to accurate information and quality services, including safe and affordable contraceptives and obstetric care. In this way we support women and men to plan whether to have children, plan when and how many children to have, and protect themselves against unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. We also assist countries to collect and analyse population data so they can better understand demographic trends and plan for future needs.
UNFPA Viet Nam is guided in its work by the key international principles, in particular the Programme of Action of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) held in Cairo.
UNFPA and One United Nations
UNFPA is actively involved in global reform of the United Nations and the related “One UN Initiative”. Launched in Viet Nam in early 2006, this aims to make the UN more effective by harmonising programming, management and operational practices of different UN agencies to ensure sustainable development and benefits for the people of Viet Nam under the “five ones”. These are “One Plan, One Budget, One Set of Management Practices, One Leader, and a One UN House”.
The United Nations Country Team (UNCT) in Viet Nam consists of all the UN agencies, funds and programmes in Viet Nam. The UNCT works "as one" to support Viet Nam in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Viet Nam’s own National Development Goals through a people-centred, rights-based approach to development as outlined in the One Plan, the combined planning framework for all the UN organizations in Viet Nam participating in the One UN Initiative.
The UNCT is led by the UN Resident Coordinator as the senior UN official in Viet Nam. Designated the "One Leader" under the One UN Initiative, the RC takes the lead on common issues that require the UN Country Team to speak with one voice, and presents a common UN position. He guides the strategic development and management of the One UN Initiative and promotes joint decisions including all representatives of the participating UN organizations.
The UN Resident Coordinator's Office provides direct support to the UN Resident Coordinator and the UN Country Team, including advisory, technical, organizational and management support. It also helps coordinate the work of non-resident UN organizations. Coordinating development operations promotes more strategic support for national plans and priorities, makes operations more efficient and reduces transaction costs for governments. This helps the UN to be a more relevant and reliable partner for governments.
Viet Nam is one of eight pilot "Delivering as One" countries implementing UN reform at the country level with the aim of making the UN in Viet Nam more responsive and effective to the country’s rapidly evolving needs. To find out more, visit the UN Viet Nam website, www.un.org.vn.
In this new environment, UNFPA will continue to tackle emerging reproductive health and population issues, guided by its principles of gender sensitivity and an approach based on human rights.
PRIORITIES 2012-2015
The well-being of the Vietnamese people is our priority. Our activities aim to improve the quality of life of the most vulnerable, including ethnic minorities, victims of domestic violence, migrants and people living with and affected by HIV. Our current programme targets provinces where the number of women dying while giving birth is particularly high and where there are limited sexual and reproductive health services.
Consequently, we work with government ministries to review population and gender-related reproductive health policies intended to enable Viet Nam to reach the international goals to which it has committed. The close link between reproductive health, women’s empowerment, gender equality and development underlies our work to reduce maternal deaths, achieve universal access to reproductive health services, close the gender gap in education, increase life expectancy and reduce HIV infection rates.
