Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- The Uzbekistan Vision 2030 Fund, also known as the "Ishonch Fund," has announced a commitment allocation of USD43.5 million to support a new UN joint programme aimed at significantly reducing preventable maternal and newborn deaths in Uzbekistan. 

One of the key goals of the new programme is to increase the survival rate of low-birth-weight babies from seventy-five percent to ninety percent.

Further to the Agreement between the Swiss Confederation and the Republic of Uzbekistan on the Modalities for the Return of Illegally Acquired Assets Forfeited in the Swiss Confederation to the Benefit of the Population of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Uzbekistan Vision 2030 Fund is capitalized through a contribution representing a return of assets that have been definitively forfeited in criminal proceedings in Switzerland. 

The Fund, administered by the UN Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office, will support principled, transparent, and effective asset restitution via programs aimed at accelerating the Government of Uzbekistan’s national reform agenda and the SDGs.