UNFPA Somalia Wellbeing of Women and Girls

Description What is done in the programme or project and why, what results are pursued, who benefits from the activities and who are involved in the implementation.

Support to the UN Population Fund's (UNFPA) country programme continues Finland's strong contribution for the development of Somalia's reproductive, maternal and child health care services. UNFPA has been among the three UN agencies that have been involved in the UN Joint Nutrition and Health Programme in Somalia (JHNP), which focused on the development of maternal and child health services. Finland supported the implementation of the programme for 15.5MEUR between 2014-2016. JHNP has provided services for an area covering half of Somalia's population. It has reached good results, having significantly contributed to the reduction of maternal and infant mortality. Through JHNP, UNFPA has supported the provision of maternal, sexual and reproductive health services, as well as contributed to improving their quality. UNFPA has supported the running of 135 maternal clinics; the training of midwifes in 15 midwiferies throughout Somalia; the provision of training on reproductive health for over 600 health care professionals; as well as the provision of technical assistance to the ministries of health to support their capacity building, including their work on health sector strategic development. As JHNP is coming to an end in early-2017, UNFPA continues the work to develop the reproductive, maternal and child health care in Somalia, according to its mandate. UNFPA country strategy for Somalia for 2011-2016 has been extended for one year to cover also 2017. Its overall objective is to improve the wellbeing of Somali people. The country strategy aims to achieve this through reducing maternal mortality and through supporting the realization of reproductive rights and services. In addition, the strategy supports gender equality and combats gender-based violence, as well as strengthens the Somali statistical systems and promotes evidence-based planning and policy design. Three particular priority areas have been identified for 2017: 1. Increased provision of comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services (around 50% of the annual budget for 2017) 2. Promotion of gender equality and prevention of gender-based violence (around 25% of the 2017 budget) 3. Strengthened national capacity on use of quality disaggregated data for evidence-based planning and policy design on population and development issues (around 25% of the 2017 budget) Finland supports the implementation of the UNFPA Somalia country strategy for 2011-2017 for 2 million euros.