ISTANBUL/SKOPJE - UNFPA renewed the partnership agreement with the South-eastern Europe Health Network (SEEHN) to advance sexual and reproductive health and rights in South-Eastern Europe. 

Under the agreement, UNFPA and SEEHN will reinforce cooperation and strengthen state-of-the-art and evidence-informed SRHR programmes in the region. The two organizations will advocate for advancing national SRHR policy frameworks in SEEHN member states in the context of the commitments made at the Nairobi Summit on ICPD25 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, with a special focus on leaving no one behind. 

“The COVID-19 pandemic and the massive disruptions it caused in health systems has demonstrated the importance of partnerships as we are striving to build back better and advance the SRHR agenda in the region,” said UNFPA Regional Director Alanna Armitage at the signing ceremony.    

“The Memorandum of Understanding is an important step in reinforcing the commitment to engage in three transformative results for the health and well-being of the people in the region: ending unmet need for family planning, ending preventable maternal death, and ending gender-based violence and harmful practices.” said SEEHN Director Dr. Mira Jovanovski Dasic.

SEEHN is a regional intergovernmental organization founded in 2001 with the aim to promote collaboration, common values and to encourage mutual efforts towards peace, health and well-being of the people in its nine member states.