UNFPA and MSD for Mothers have collaborated to reduce cultural, educational and behavioral barriers to accessing and utilizing maternal health and family planning services across ethnic minority regions through innovative interventions focused on community education, provider capacity building and a digital tool to strengthen service delivery.

The project “Leaving no one behind: Innovative interventions to reduce maternal mortality in the ethnic minority region in Vietnam” is one of the most important initiatives of UNFPA Vietnam to reduce maternal mortality among ethnic minorities in six provinces through innovative interventions, paying close attention to special needs of ethnic minority women who are at risk of being left behind in the country’s sustainable development process.
 
The Project aims at increasing access to and utilization of integrated, quality and voluntary sexual and reproductive health services amongst ethnic minorities; improving the capacity of emergency obstetric care management in remote mountainous localities; and building a village-based birth attendant network in remote ethnic minority localities.

Additionally, a project focused broadly on supporting better understanding of governments to implement national cervical cancer programmes is piloted in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. To improve understanding and foster dialogue, a Regional Alliance for Cervical Cancer Prevention in Eastern Europe and Central Asia has been created to accelerate the progress of the project, by creating new partnerships, sharing knowledge and resources, facilitating cooperation and improving coordination across the region.

This collaboration between MSD for Mothers and UNFPA’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Regional Office will focused on increasing the capacity of the Alliance, and supporting the Alliance to establish itself as an important entity for the exchange of information between governments and other actors on the prevention of cervical cancer This project will help the Alliance support governments implement their national cervical cancer programmes in line with the Global cervical cancer elimination strategy.