Mrs. Bahar Muradova, Chairperson of the State Committee for Family, Women and Children Affairs, met with Mr. Edward Carwardine, Representative of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Azerbaijan on April 7, 2021.

During the meeting, the "New Country Program for Azerbaijan for 2021-2025" was discussed.

Mrs. Bahar Muradova, Chairperson of the State Committee greeted the guests and thanked them for initiating the meeting. She said that if during the work we talked anxiously about the difficulties of the war, today we are proud of the great construction  after the victory.

Then the chairman of the committee gave the floor to Mr. Edward Carwardine, the representative of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Azerbaijan.

Noting that the last 6 months are a historic period for Azerbaijan, the UN official noted that a new program has been adopted for the country in connection with the activities to be carried out over the next 5 years. Sharing his views on the Children's Strategy and National Action Plan adopted last year, Carwardine said that UNICEF is ready to provide technical support to the process on the issues outlined in the action plan and attaches importance to cooperation with all relevant agencies in implementing the plan and monitoring it. He expressed confidence that this action plan will be a standard for the activities that are important for children in other countries.

Stressing that Azerbaijan has made clear commitments on issues arising from the Sustainable Development Goals, the UN official said that the above-mentioned documents are in line with the Sustainable Development Goals.

Drawing attention on the issues covered in the program, Mr. Carwardine said that one of the important issues today is to draw public attention to early childhood development and positive parenting. At the same time, it is important to further develop the services of Child and Family Support Centers operating in the regions and introduce new opportunities. He stressed that strengthening and expanding the psychosocial work with the child victims in the post-war period, as well as preventing the growing negative incidents  in society due to the consequences of the pandemic are among the issues planned.

Noting that there is a model of formation of a suitable community for children in a number of countries, Mr. E. Carwardine presented to Bahar Muradova a conceptual document on the creation of a suitable environment for children and youth in the liberated territories of Azerbaijan.

The chairman of the committee thanked Mr. Carwardine for the proposals, praised the work to be done in the near future and stressed the readiness of the committee to fulfill its obligations. Noting that the information disseminated on violence and suicides is more inciting and directing, the chairman of the Committee said that as a result, a series of events took place, and it would be useful to address the public with joint calls to prevent this.

 The meeting continued with a discussion of measures to be taken to address the issues arising from the "New Country Program for Azerbaijan for 2021-2025".

Mrs. Sabina Manafova, Head of the Foreign Relations and Protocol Service Department of the State Committee, and Mr. Vugar Salmanov and Mr. Tamerlan Rajabov,UNICEF representatives  also attended the meeting.