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15 Stories of Change
The three-year regional programme ’EU 4 Gender Equality: Together against gender stereotypes and gender-based violence’ (EU4GE), funded by the European Union and implemented jointly by UN Women and UNFPA, strengthens women’s and men’s equal rights and opportunities by shifting social perceptions, challenging gender stereotypes, and increasing men’s participation in unpaid domestic and care work. The first phase of the programme was active in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine during March 2020 - June 2023.
Here are 15 stories of women and men, boys and girls who became gender equality advocates and whose lives have improved through the new experiences and knowledge they have acquired thanks to the EU4GE Programme.
This publication was produced with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of UN Women and UNFPA and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.
Refugee Response in Armenia Situation Report #4
Over 100,000 people fled to Armenia following renewed hostilities in the Karabakh region in September 2023. As of 19 October 2023, the authorities had registered 101,848 refugees. More than half of them are reported to be women and girls; an estimated 2,070 women are currently pregnant, 120 have given birth since arriving in Armenia and an estimated 1,380 will give birth in the next 6 months. 29 per cent of refugees are reported to be under 18 years, 9 per cent to be people with disabilities and approximately 12 per cent to be older than 65 years.
UNFPA Regional Response to Ukraine Emergency Situation Report #21
The Ukraine Regional SitRep #21 covers the humanitarian needs and response in Ukraine and neighbouring countries for the period September-October 2023.
Türkiye Earthquake Situation Report #7
The massive earthquakes that struck eastern Türkiye in February 2023 affected around 9.1 million people across 11 provinces, leaving over 3.6 million individuals nationwide without safe homes.1 As of October 2023, almost 800,000 people2 were residing in formal and informal sites across six provinces — Adiyaman, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kahramanmaras, Malatya, and Osmaniye — with the construction of permanent homes underway in several provinces.
Nine months following the earthquakes, the health and protection infrastructure in the affected provinces remains below pre-disaster capacity. It is estimated that among those affected, around 102,000 women have given birth, and an additional 76,000 women are currently pregnant.
However, the deterioration of district-level health facilities and the shortage of specialised doctors has reduced the usage of antenatal and postnatal care services.
The Family-Friendly Workplace Model
This publication provides a detailed overview of the family-friendly workplace model developed as part of the Expanding Choices project. By guiding readers through the model’s five steps — introduction, strategy, planning, implementation, and monitoring and adjustments — the publication offers private sector companies the knowledge, evidence and tools needed to establish and implement long-term gender-responsive family policies and initiatives.
Refugee Response in Armenia Situation Report #3
In the last week of September 2023, refugees began arriving rapidly in Armenia following renewed hostilities in Karabakh. As of 20 October, 101,848 refugees have been registered in Armenia since 24 September.
More than half of them are reported to be women and girls; an estimated 2,070 women are currently pregnant, 88 have given birth since arriving in Armenia, and an estimated 1,380 will give birth in the next 6 months.
31% of refugees are reported to be under 18 years, and around 18% are reported to be older than 65 years.
Highlights from the ICPD30 conference discussions
Highlights from the Regional Conference on ICPD 2023, Population and Development: Ensuring Rights and Choices, organized by UNECE and UNFPA in Geneva on 19-20 October 2023.
Ensuring Rights and Choices amid Demographic Change
As the international community prepares to mark the 30th anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), held in Cairo in 1994, UNECE and UNFPA have collaborated to evaluate achievements and setbacks in the implementation of the ICPD Programme of Action and the recommendations made in the 2013 Chair’s Summary. This report highlights how recent crises have had an impact on key population and development trends in the UNECE region, identifies areas where it is necessary to accelerate efforts and provides examples of concrete policy responses to both long-standing and emerging issues.
Since the last ICPD regional review in 2018, the UNECE region has changed profoundly. The COVID-19 pandemic has had far-reaching impacts on people and economies. Devastating natural disasters have led to large-scale humanitarian and economic crises in parts of the region. The war in Ukraine has taken thousands of lives, caused untold destruction and displaced millions of people. Even before these crises, progress towards the ICPD Programme of Action in the UNECE region was uneven. In this new context, progress has slowed or reversed in many areas, and inequalities have been exacerbated.
At the same time, most countries are facing or will soon confront declining fertility, ageing populations and projected population decline. The UNECE region will lead the world into a new demographic reality. To adequately prepare for emerging challenges and opportunities, the report urges countries to strive to understand their population dynamics and to design human-rights-based public policies that build on individual potential and capabilities and that advance gender equality.
The 2023 SDG Summit (18–19 September 2023) marked the halfway point to the deadline set for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and called for a new phase of accelerated action leading up to 2030. To carry forward this momentum in the UNECE region, the report reiterates the linkages between the ICPD Programme of Action and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and demonstrates the role of the ICPD Programme of Action in achieving the SDGs.
Renewed collective action is required to overcome setbacks and sustain progress amid recent disruptions. This report helps to chart the way forward for realizing the potential of individuals and societies and for securing the human rights of everyone amid the new demographic realities in the UNECE region.
Refugee Response in Armenia Situation Report #2
In the last week of September 2023, refugees began arriving rapidly in Armenia following renewed hostilities in Karabakh. As of 12 October, an estimated 101,848 refugees had crossed the border, and more than 99.3 per cent of them had been registered by the authorities. More than half of them are reported to be women and girls; an estimated 2,070 women are currently pregnant, 54 have given birth since arriving in Armenia, and an estimated 1,380 will give birth in the coming 6 months.
UNFPA Appeal for Armenia Refugee Response
Over 100,000 people have fled the region of Karabakh and entered Armenia as refugees since hostilities escalated on 19-20 September 2023. All but a few of the region’s inhabitants have left, many with only a few bags of personal belongings. The government of Armenia has mounted a swift emergency response and relocated the refugees across the country. However, there are significant needs for the refugee population as well as for the host community, especially the most vulnerable (including pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, people with disabilities, women and girls at risk of gender based violence, youth and older persons) who urgently need support for their physical and mental wellbeing.