UN appeal for 2006 launched

The United Nations launched its appeal for Tajikistan for 2006 in the capital, Dushanbe, on Thursday, requesting more than US $51 million from international donors. “This document represents a common strategy of UN agencies aimed at further support of Tajikistan’s sustainable development,” UN Resident Coordinator William Paton said at the launch of the appeal. According to Paton, 15 UN agencies are operating in the former Soviet republic and plan to use the requested funds for the implementation of 56 projects, of which 33 are new and 14 are mutual projects. Improving public services, transforming livelihoods and redistributing responsibilities are the main priority areas for the UN in Tajikistan to tackle between 2005 and 2009. “One of the priorities between 2005 and 2009 is improving public services, including the reduction of infectious diseases, and the health and nutrition of women and children. The projects on these issues will be mutually implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the World Health Organization (WHO) and others,” Santino Severoni, head of the WHO mission in the country, said. Within the redistributing livelihoods component, farmers and rural communities will also get support in 2006. “Seventy percent of the rural population of working age is women. Therefore, the prospects of gender issues in agriculture should be tackled,” Alberto Longy, country coordinator for the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said. Another area is working with remittances sent by Tajik labourers abroad. “Income generated by labour migrants constitutes 20 percent of the national income and it can be used for community development on the ground,” the FAO official explained. The appeals by some UN agencies are as follows: FAO appealed for almost $10 million; UNDP – some $16.5 million; UNFPA – $1.2 million; UNICEF – more than $4 million and the UN Tajikistan Office of Peace-building (TOP) – $1.8 million.