The launch of the Joint Programme “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” took place online at the beginning of the year. It will be implemented by the UNDP, UNFPA, FAO in partnership with the Ministry of Economic Development and Poverty Reduction of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Karakalpakstan. The Programme is designed to work for two and a half years and covers the period until the end of June 2023.

The goal of the Joint Programme is to improve efficiency and innovation in agriculture, to promote smart and digital communities with favorable infrastructure. It is expected to contribute the development of the communities, empowerment of youth aged from 14 to 30, women, as well as vulnerable groups of people, including people with disabilities, families headed by women, labour migrants, etc. Overall, 183,200 residents of the Muynak, Bozatau and Kungrad districts of Karakalpakstan will benefit from the Programme implementation.

The MPHSTF was launched on November 27, 2018, during an official ceremony at the UN headquarters in New York, USA. On January 8, 2019, the President of Uzbekistan approved a resolution "On measures to support the activities of the Multi-Partner Trust Fund for Human Security for the Aral Sea region under the auspices of the United Nations." The document provisions for practical measures to create a favourable institutional, legal and financial environment to ensure the effective functioning of the Fund.