The United Nations Office in Uzbekistan on 24 October released a publication entitled "UN and Uzbekistan: partners in development", a press release of the UN office in Uzbekistan said.

It gives a brief overview of support that the UN and its programmes and agencies have been providing to Uzbekistan’s development since 1993. These are UNDP, UNICEF, UNFPA, UNODC, UNESCO, WHO, and UNAIDS.

The publication reveals that the UN agencies bring in not only a wealth of resources, but also a unique combination of experience and skills gained by the Organization over the years of development work throughout the world. Each agency has its own mandate and area of expertise and thus complements each other’s activities.

The UN agencies implement in Uzbekistan a comprehensive portfolio of projects that aim to advance economic and social reforms, to improve living standards and quality of health and education, to strengthen democratic institutions and broaden public participation in development processes, to protect the environment and the unique cultural heritage of Uzbekistan as well as to help enhance human resources capacity in all these priority development areas. In doing so, the UN system cooperates with a wide range of partners, including the Government, donor organizations, civil society, academia and the media.

Special attention is paid to the UN contribution in advancing the goals of the 2007 Year of Social Protection. Through technical advice and projects, the UN in Uzbekistan facilitates the Government’s efforts to increase efficiency of the national social protection system.

Working in their mandated areas, the UN agencies place a special emphasis on supporting the most vulnerable groups of the Uzbek population – children, women, the disabled, low-income families and the elderly - so that they have access to improved health care, education and jobs.

The publication "UN and Uzbekistan: partners in development" came out in Uzbek, Russian and English languages.