UNFPA closes office in Azerbaijan after 30 years of service

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has officially closed its office in Azerbaijan as of May 2025.

Established more than 30 years ago, the UNFPA office in Azerbaijan played a key role in supporting the government and local partners in improving maternal health services, addressing gender-based violence, and advancing population and demographic policies, Caliber.Az reports via local media.

Over the decades, the UN agency collaborated closely with national institutions, assisting to strengthen healthcare systems and advocate for gender equality and women's rights across the country. While the closure marks the end of UNFPA’s physical presence in Azerbaijan, cooperation will continue through its Regional Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, as well as its global headquarters.

UNFPA is the United Nations reproductive health agency. The mission is to deliver a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person's potential is fulfilled.  

The agency promotes gender equality and empower women, girls and young people to take control of their bodies and their futures. UNFPA works with partners in more than 150 countries to provide access to a wide range of reproductive health services. The goal is ending unmet need for family planning, preventable maternal death, and gender-based violence and harmful practices including child marriage and female genital mutilation by 2030. 

By Naila Huseynova