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[DUSHANBE, 12 December 2006] - A new website for UNICEF in Tajikistan was launched today giving outsiders an insider’s view of the lives of children in this mountainous Central Asian country. Covering a range of issues and stories, the website describes UNICEF’s work in Tajikistan in the areas of child survival, education, HIV/AIDS and child protection. The launch takes place the day after the 60th anniversary of UNICEF was celebrated around the world. Over the next few months, the site will continue to grow with new publications and reports, related content and other useful resources being added over time. The UNICEF Tajikistan website aims to become a valuable information tool for development professionals, journalists and donors and a “go to” resource for those interested in children’s issues in Tajikistan. The Republic of Tajikistan is a small, land-locked country in the south-eastern area of Central Asia. The Tajik people celebrated independence fifteen years ago but also suffered a civil war which lasted almost five years. Two thirds of the country’s seven million people are poor and live in rural areas. Tajikistan has made good progress towards realizing the rights of children and women, but many school-age girls do not complete the required nine years of compulsory education and the country still has a high mortality rates for children. The direct causes of high morbidity and mortality are premature birth, birth trauma, congenital problems, neonatal infections, low birth weight, acute respiratory infections, and diarrhoeal diseases. Behind these clinical problems lie a range of underlying causes including high prevalence of malnutrition, improper family practice for child care, low knowledge of caregivers on the home management of common childhood diseases and limited access to quality care services. The new website was launched during UNICEF Tajikistan’s Annual Programme Review meeting in the presence of a range of UNICEF’s national partners including senior government officials, members of local government and non-governmental organisations. The purpose of the meeting was to assess the results of the past year 2006 as well as to discuss challenges encountered and lessons learned.