Media centre

UNICEF sign MoU with the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Uzbekistan

(right to left): Mr. T. Turagalov, First Deputy Minister of Emergency Situations and Mr. Reza Hossaini, UNICEF Representative in Uzbekistan sign an MoU on partnership.

TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, 24 May 2007 – On 22 May a Memorandum of Understanding on Partnership was signed between Mr. T. Turagalov, First Deputy Minister of Emergency Situations and Mr. Reza Hossaini, UNICEF Representative in Uzbekistan.

A Disaster Risk Reduction project for Vulnerable Communities, especially Children and Women began on 1 April 2007 and will continue until 31 April 2008. The European Commission Humanitarian aid (ECHO) has given 265,000 Euros to fund this project which UNICEF and the Ministry of Emergency Situations are jointly implementing in high disaster prone areas in Uzbekistan.

The main purpose of the project is to promote disaster risk reduction to (1) enable local communities and institutions to better prepare for and mitigate natural disasters and (2) to enhance coping capacities of communities, children and women in the Tashkent, Syrdarya, Fergana, Samarkand, Bukhara and Kashkadarya regions in Uzbekistan.

The main components of the project are advocacy, awareness raising, education, facilitation and coordination, institutional strengthening, local capacity building and training. The expected outcomes of the project include:

Development by Ministry of Emergency Situations of a comprehensive disaster risk reduction strategy;
Enhancement of Ministry’s coordination and facilitation capacity of all stakeholders;
Strengthening of the capacity of regional and district local governments, emergency departments in six regions to better facilitate risk reduction activities among communities;
Improved knowledge on disaster risk reduction measures and enhanced existing emergency preparedness plans for about 1,000 makhalla (community) leaders, school directors, teachers, medical staff and local government representatives;
Better natural disaster coping skills for over 120,000 school children.

Through this project, efforts will be made to integrate disaster risk reduction strategy into the overall national development agenda.

About UNICEF

UNICEF is on the ground in over 150 countries and territories to help children survive and thrive, from early childhood through adolescence. The world’s largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments.

For more information, please contact:

Oyunsiahan Dendevnorov, Area-Based Program Officer, Email: odendevnorov@unicef.org

Bobur Turdiev, Communication Officer, Email: bturdiev@unicef.org

Español Français