Nukus city, Republic of Karakalpakstan – from April 25 to April 30, 2022, UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, together with the State Committee for Family and Women, conducts the second round of trainings to train facilitators “Basics and skills of women's entrepreneurship to increase the socio-economic activity of women in society” . Over the course of six days, 18 competitively selected female and female leaders will be trained in skills to improve personal capacities and abilities of other women from their communities. The trained community leaders are expected to help other women in their communities to gain confidence, work as a team and start their own business, and improve their skills to create new entrepreneurial opportunities.

This event is held within the framework of the Joint Program of UNDP, UNFPA and FAO "Unleashing young people’s and vulnerable citizens’ creativity and innovation by strengthening their adaptive capacity to address the economic and food insecurities in the exposed communities of the Aral Sea region", with the assistance of the State Committee for Family and Women. The program is aimed at solving a set of problems caused by the Aral Sea depletion and the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in the three northern regions of Karakalpakstan - Muynak, Bozatau and Kungrad, with financial support from the UN Multi-Partner Trust Fund for Human Security for the Aral Sea region in Uzbekistan.

It is expected that the training will increase the economic activity of women, will become an incentive for the development of entrepreneurship among vulnerable women through special training programs to build their capacity and develop teamwork skills, strengthen their self-confidence, social skills, family planning, aspects of gender equality, family planning budgeting, entrepreneurial skills and developing business plans, and creating a profitable individual or family business.

In 2021, as part of the first round of trainings, 18 vulnerable women leaders from Muynak, Bozatau and Kungrad districts were trained to become facilitators and further trained and transferred the acquired skills and knowledge to 110 women in their communities. As a result of the training, 11 business projects led by rural women in the field of cooking, beauty salons, sewing, etc., financed under this Program, are aimed at creating additional jobs among women and youth.