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UNFPA organizes workshop on new Country Programme Action Plan

     In cooperation with key partners, the United Nation Population Fund (UNFPA) organized a two-day national workshop to discuss the 2007-2011 Country Programme Action Plan (CPAP). Approximately 200 participants, ranging from government and NGO staff to academics and researchers, from across Yemen attended the workshop.

    In the opening session, Abdulkareem Al-Arhabi, minister of Planning and International Cooperation, placed emphasis on two issues: the importance of following the new methods detailed in CPAP during the preparation of plans and programmes; and, the necessity of participation in the preparation of plans and programmes.

     The UNFPA is an important partner of the Yemeni government as it faces an enormous challenge in the area of population, which has been a chronic problem.  Facing the population challenge is not an easy task, Al-Arahabi said.

     In the new five-year plan, Al-Arhabi added that the Ministry had increased future coordination and cooperation with the UNFPA.  He went on to note that the population issue needs participation from all sectors of society.

     Dr. Abdulkareem Rase’e, the minister of Public Health and Population, extolled the fruitful and constructive cooperation between the UNFPA and his ministry, which is the main partner of the UNFPA in the population field – in particular with reproductive health.

     Rase’e added that the latest CPAP will see the development of a new level of the cooperation between his Ministry and the UNFPA. He urged all parties to make their best effort in the implementation of the new programme, especially concerning decentralization.

     Hans Obdeijn, the UNFPA representative, expressed his delight to see years of hard work translated into an important workshop. “We are here to reaffirm our commitment to jointly resolving population and development issues in Yemen,” he said.

     Yemen aims to increase its annual economic growth from 4.1 to 7.1 percent in order to qualify for Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) admission. The government of Yemen is aware that this is quite a challenge with an annual population growth rate of 3.0 percent, Obdeijn added.

     The new CPAP was prepared in cooperation with Yemeni government. With a budget of 20 million USD, the New Country Programme will begin implementation in 2007 at the end of the current 2002-2006 programme. The programme focused on three major areas: reproductive health, population development strategy, and gender.

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