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Mandate of the United Nations Population Fund

Created in 1969, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is the organization within the UN system that is concerned with population issues. It works to enhance the right to sexual and reproductive health, and provides its support to countries to enable them to utilize demographic data in the formulation of policies and programmes to combat poverty. Switzerland has been supporting the work of the UNFPA since 1973 under the banner of multilateral cooperation, and collaborates with it in both multilateral and bilateral projects.

The main tasks of the UNFPA

Developing countries which invest in their health and education systems and as a result have a lower birth and mortality rate have achieved a prospering development. UNFPA’s mandate is to promote this and thus combat poverty.

UNFPA works with governments and non-governmental organizations in more than 140 countries. It supports programmes which promote an overall raising of awareness and help women, men and young people in the following areas:

• Family planning and contraception,
• Pre-natal care, obstetrics and post-natal care,
• Prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases including HIV/AIDS, 
• Combating violence against women.
  

Through its information campaigns and projects, UNFPA has committed itself in particular to the implementation of the Action programme. passed in 1994 at the United Nations International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo. This action programme aims to improve the access of developing countries to education, income, health services and contraceptives as well as increasing life expectancy. The implementation of the action programme is an important building block in efforts to reach the Millennium Goals.

UNFPA and Switzerland

Switzerland sees the central role of UNFPA as supporting developing countries in matters regarding reproductive medicine, sexual health and population development. In culturally sensitive areas such as family planning and contraception, the acceptance of a broadly-based organization like UNFPA is greater than that of an individual country. Switzerland therefore concentrates on multilateral cooperation in population matters and has supported UNFPA since 1973.

In 2010, Switzerland made a general contribution of CHF 14 million. In addition to this general financial contribution, the SDC works directly with UNFPA through its representatives in several countries. In Rwanda for example it supports an UNFPA education and awareness programme which is working to improve the health of young people and reduce sexually-transmitted diseases and HIV infections.

Switzerland also takes an active part in the management activities of the Executive Board and in the monitoring of the fund and its business and programme activities. In its interventions it concentrates on the following themes: gender, HIV/AIDS, socio-cultural environment and administrative issues. As with the UNDP, Switzerland, represented by the SDC, serves two years as a member of the Executive Board (2008 and 2010) and one year as observer (2009).