Kabul, 6 November 2013

• Mr Yama Aini , Deputy Director of United Nations and International Conferences, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• Distinguished guests from the Ministries and Government Institutions, NGOs and civil society,
• Ladies and Gentlemen. Very Good Morning.
• On behalf of UNFPA, it is my pleasure to welcome you to the Stakeholder Consultation Workshop for the UNFPA 4^thCountry Programme. We thank you for partnering with us to review the achievements and lessons learned from the third UNFPA country programme and to formulate the priorities for the new UNFPA country programme, 2015-2019.
• UNFPA initiated its programming in Afghanistan in 1976, followed by three country programmes, each which has gotten successively stronger, expanding technical expertise and services as well as increasing coverage of reproductive health services in the provinces. We have continued to support capacity development of government and nongovernmental organisations to deliver quality services for the improvement of sexual and reproductive health of women and girls, gender equality and data availability.
• For the 3^rd Country Programme, the recent evaluation highlighted a large number of achievements that were a result of partnerships with you. Among these achievements, the 82 Family Health Houses, 9 Mobile Support Teams, 4 Mobile Health Teams and Community Midwifery Programme contributed to an increase in deliveries by skilled birth attendants and decrease in maternal mortality and morbidity. Treatment of more than 60 fistula cases enabled a more dignified life for these women and their families. The training of 3,500 people in gender based violence raised awareness of the need for elimination of violence against women. The socio-economic development survey has been undertaken in three provinces to date resulting in increased information for planning and programming and is being expanded to the fourth province this month. Training in preparedness for emergency has been undertaken on the Minimum Initial Services Package (MISP) and reproductive and dignity kits have been delivered during emergencies. A National Youth Policy has been developed and a youth line initiated which increasingly gets health consultation calls from a large number of young people.
• However, there is no room for complacency. We must remember that still the national maternal mortality ratio was reported to be 450 in 2011; a number which masks provincial and district differences - it has been reported that rural pregnancy related mortality is four times higher than urban. Use of contraception remains low. Mothers continue to suffer from fistula - a preventable condition - and women and girls continue to experience violence. We experienced strategic and operational challenges around youth programming and delays in some of our programmes, and there was need for greater humanitarian assistance.
• In your deliberations today, I request that you consider building on these achievements to date and to be innovative in addressing some of the challenges we encountered in the last programme. We would like to see a continuation of some of the successful programming that has occurred to date to enable expansion to other provinces as well as a stronger focus on improved quality of services.
• In this year's State of the World Population report on Adolescent Pregnancy: Motherhood in Childhood which we launched on Sunday, we reaffirmed our commitment to the people of Afghanistan our intention to partner with government, religious leaders and communities to eliminate early child marriage and promote birth spacing. I request that you also consider this in your deliberations today.
• In the evaluation close partnership and coordination was highlighted as being very important to the success of the third country programme. We would like to work towards even stronger partnerships with our counterparts in government and NGOs and pursue increased donor support, especially over the next four years and beyond.
• The evaluation highlighted the need for greater ownership of programmes. Hence, we have held numerous bilateral meetings in the past month or so to ensure your full input into the planning and development of the new country programme. We request your maximal commitment to the new programme. With increased commitment from all of us - our stakeholders and UNFPA Afghanistan Country Office - we are confident that we will be able to achieve a more sustainable programme with improved results for our beneficiaries.
• Through working according to Afghanistan National Development Strategy, Sectoral Strategies, towards addressing the unfinished business of MDGs and in coherence with the United Nations Development Assistance Framework(UNDAF), we are confident that the new country programme will be able to contribute to results that will be sustainable. Through a results based approach that is aligned to national and provincial priorities, we reaffirm our commitment to a strong partnership and coordination with government and other development partners. We thank the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for their excellent coordination and support for the UNFPA Country Programme. Furthermore, through support to the Transformation Programme of 2015-2025, UNFPA will continue to support the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to increase the quality of life of its citizens, with special focus on women and children, especially adolescent girls. We look forward to excellent outcomes for this planning workshop and encourage you to be innovative in your deliberations today.

Thank you