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Making Globalization Work for AllU N I T E D N A T I O N S D E V E L O P M E N T P R O G R A M M E A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 0 7

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Contents

1 Foreword: Reform, Renewal and Results

2 Inclusive Globalization

6 UNDP and a Reforming UN: Coordinated Support for Development

12 UNDP Programmes: Foundations for Strong and Equitable Societies 13 Poverty reduction: Mapping the road to pro-poor growth and human development20 Democratic Governance: Fostering broad and meaningful participation 28 Crisis Prevention and Recovery: Managing threats, returning to stability33 Environment and Energy: Balancing access and security

37 Operating as an Effective and Accountable Development Partner

42 UNDP Resources

Front cover: In Ghana,women sand wood forgarden furniture that will be exported. Throughtheir livelihoods,they areconnected to the growingglobal economy.

Photograph credits

Cover: Ron Giling/Still Pictures

page 1: UNDP Costa Rica

page 4: Mark Edwards/UNDP

page 9: top – Eskinder Debebe/UN;bottom – Brian Randall/UNDP

page 10: Press Office/Office of the President/Rwanda

page 13: UN Habitat; inset – Eskinder Debebe/UN

page 15: Anna Chilczuk/UNDP

page 16: Bruce Southwick/UNDP

page 21: Cassandra Waldon/UNDP

page 22: Andres Leighton/AP Photo

page 23: Riccardo Gangale/UNDP

page 24: Gustavo Ferrari/AP Photo

page 26: UNDP Kosovo

page 29: Friends of the Earth Europe

page 31: UNDP Maldives

page 34: Stephen Shaver/Bloomberg News

page 38: Andrew Gombert/UNDP

page 41: UNDP

MDG icons, page 11: UNDP Regional Service Centre for Eastern and Southern Africa

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© UNDP June 2007

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5

5

As we review the activities of the UNDevelopment Programme (UNDP)over the last year, it’s clear we face a double challenge. First, there is

the overall coherence and “delivering as one”agenda, which is critical for the entire UNdevelopment system. As chair of the UNDevelopment Group, the UNDP Adminis-trator has a special role, working together with UN colleagues, in moving forward withreform. As we put in place the measures need-ed to enhance the efficiency and effectivenessof the UN system at the country level, the idea is not to merge the various mandates ororganizations, but rather to build on theirskills and expertise so that the UN delivers ina more coherent way and is more effective inbuilding the links between what happens atthe country level with the global policy debate.

The second challenge we face relates toUNDP itself. UNDP is a key partner in build-ing capacity for human development focusedaround four areas: poverty reduction, demo-cratic governance, crisis prevention and recov-ery, and environment and energy. As set out in UNDP’s Strategic Plan 2008-2011, we needto continue to deliver in these areas on theground, providing knowledge, policy advice,advocacy and technical support to programmecountries on the basis of accumulated goodpractice and our comparative advantage. It isimportant that while doing this, UNDP alsogradually withdraws from sectoral and sub-sectoral activities that should be done by thosewith a specific mandate. Hence, far from per-petuating what can be perceived as a conflict of interest, a strategic and policy-orientated

organization focused on our core mandate, anda Resident Coordinator system that embracesthe whole UN system would be fully comple-mentary and allow the UN to play its role as a leading development partner to countries.A renewed, well-managed and well-resourcedUNDP—as recognized by the High-LevelPanel on UN System-wide Coherence—would, therefore, be an indispensable supportboth to the Resident Coordinator system andto the UN development system as a whole.

UNDP’s core strength lies in this dual role.For that reason, our work will increasingly bestrategic, integrative and directed at addressinginter-sectoral linkages, focusing on our core

mandate which is to work with developingcountries in the process of capacity develop-ment aimed at building strong national institu-tions and a governance framework that acceler-ates development and benefits all citizens.

At the mid-point towards the 2015 deadline for achieving the MillenniumDevelopment Goals (MDGs), UNDP has acrucial role to play in the UN developmentsystem in working with developing countriesto support their efforts to tackle poverty andadvance pro-poor, inclusive growth and humandevelopment for all.

Kemal DervisUNDP Administrator

Reform, Renewaland Results

U N D P A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 0 7 1

UNDP AdministratorKemal Dervis (right)meets with VictorMena (left), the president of anindigenous peoplesrights association, ata coffee plantationin Costa Rica.

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Inclusive Globalization

I N C L U S I V E G L O B A L I Z A T I O N2

The global economy has been especiallystrong in recent years, with averageworldwide per capita income growingas rapidly as ever before. There have

also been significant improvements in global health and other broad measures ofwell-being, including life expectancy.

One group of developing countries,representing a large share of world population,has been at the forefront of global growth;their economies are growing faster than thoseof developed countries. These nations areaccessing global markets for goods, capital andtechnology; they are trading more and more

with each other as well as with rich nations.They are also starting to catch up with thewealthiest countries in terms of humandevelopment. Millions of their citizens arebeing lifted out of poverty every year, with life expectancy, child mortality and literacyconverging on developed country levels.

Another group of developing countries—greater in number, if smaller in population—are being left behind, and are today furtheraway economically from the richest countriesthan ever before. Some countries have alsoseen a sharp drop in life expectancy, in manycases as a result of HIV and AIDS. The poor-er countries also tend to be the ones most vulnerable to the effects of climate change and least prepared to mitigate its impact.

The gap between rich and poor citizens,within both developed and developingnations, is also growing. The richest two percent of the world’s adult population nowowns more than half of global householdwealth. The bottom half of adults own barelyone percent. So the gains from global growthare being highly unequally distributed.

What does this imply for those at the bottom? In 2007, over a billion people hadalmost no income (the equivalent of a dollar a day or less for each). They typically spentmore than half of what they did earn on foodfor their families, leaving even less for shelter,water, education and health care. Most ofthese people pooled their incomes throughwork that was insecure, underpaid and attimes unsafe.

In the latter decades of the 20th century,there was a widely held view that a rising tide

“Globalization has fundamentally

altered the world economy,

creating winners and losers.

Reducing inequalities, both within

and between countries, and building

a more inclusive globalization is

the most important development

challenge of our time.”5—Kemal Dervis, UNDP Administrator

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U N D P A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 0 7 3

of global economic integration would lift allboats. Some developing countries haveindeed been lifted up and are now sailingahead so fast that they are starting to catchup with developed countries. But many otherpoor nations have been left behind by thetide, and are not yet able to navigate globalseas. A similar thing is happening withinmost countries: the benefits of growth are notreaching large parts of the population.

Addressing these inequalities is our era’smost important development challenge, andunderscores why inclusive development iscentral to the mission of the UN and UNDP.In cooperation with other UN agencies,UNDP draws together governments, inter-national organizations, the private sector and civil society groups behind efforts toestablish the public policies and institutionsthat nations need to reduce development disparities. UNDP is a trusted multilateralpartner, working with 166 countries to help them build capacity for inclusive development and fulfill the promises of theglobal economy.

Why disparities matter

The reasons for addressing widening dispari-ties among people have become startlinglyclear, even beyond widely accepted notions of justice and human rights. For one thing,the wider the gaps grow, the more difficultthey become to close. Ample evidence suggests, for example, that high levels ofinequity reduce the rate at which even rapideconomic growth translates into povertyreduction. By one estimate, it now takes three times as much economic growth toachieve the same rate of poverty reductionobserved before 1990 in a typical middle-income country.

Disparities also introduce inefficiencies ineconomic systems, depriving national andglobal economies of the full range of benefitsfrom economic integration. People can’t tap investments in education and skills, forexample. Governments can’t draw upon the tax and other revenues that come fromproductive populations. And should a farmercut down the trees in a rainforest simplybecause he has no other means of livelihood,the long-term contribution to climate changewill be felt in that country and beyond.

A mixed picture of global progress

Economies are growing…

Source: The World Bank, World Development Indicators 2006

0

1

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5

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1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005W

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real

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*Figures for 2005 based on a different dataset than ratios for previous years

Source: Angus Maddison,The World Economy: Historical Statistics 2003; The World Bank, World DevelopmentIndicators 2006

1970 1980 1990 2001 2005*

0

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20

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Human development gaps are shrinking…

Source: UNDP calculations based on The World Bank and UNDP data

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I N C L U S I V E G L O B A L I Z A T I O N4

One of the most important globaldisparities relates to the lack of decent workavailable and low incomes. According to theInternational Labour Organization (ILO),about 200 million people don’t have any formof work. Many millions more, including somewho are reasonably educated, face inadequateemployment. The boom in the globaleconomy has not strongly been translatedinto decent new jobs: for every percentagepoint of global growth, formal sectoremployment has risen only by 0.3 percent.

Another priority is women’s empowermentand women’s rights. Discrimination againstwomen is a fault line running through everysociety in the world today, varying only bydegree. Women are consistently paid less thanmen, have a weaker political voice, often haveaccess to fewer educational opportunities, andgenerally benefit least from the use of naturalresources. While 200 million women enteredthe global workforce in the decade before2003, 60 percent of the one billion poorestpeople are women. Women perform 60percent of under-protected and underpaid

informal jobs, despite lower overall employ-ment rates.

Today’s disparities are also closely linked tothe human impact on the environment. It isthe poor who frequently end up with poorquality land, water, fuel and other naturalresources, which in turn limit their produc-tivity. In trying to make a living, they mayfurther degrade their immediate environ-ment, leading to a vicious cycle. On the otherside are the wealthiest people and countries,who are the greatest consumers of naturalresources, and also have much greater powerto shelter themselves from environmentalimpacts such as pollution, scarcity and climate change.

What we need to do

Fulfilling the promises of an integrated andmore secure world requires the politicalwill—and concerted national and interna-tional action—to reduce these disparities.This is not primarily about charity, but about helping people develop capacities and

In Mumbai, India,a poor woman’s home

and a gleaming newbuilding demonstratethe increasingly stark

contrast between the lives of the rich

and poor.

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U N D P A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 0 7 5

opportunities to improve their own lives and communities in a lasting way.

There is no single recipe for success: eachcountry needs to identify priorities andsolutions appropriate to the national context.But there are some basic ingredients. Nationsneed institutions capable of providing soundeconomic governance. Democratic partici-pation can ensure that economic decision-making and other public policies take intoaccount the realities of people’s lives at alllevels of society (not just the rich and power-ful). The international community can assistnational efforts (including through South-South cooperation) and promote inclusivetrends in global trade and investment.

The UN system, grounded in the universalvalues inscribed in the UN Charter, supportscollective efforts in nearly every developingcountry. UN research, drawing on data andanalysis from around the world, can defineproblems and identify opportunities. UNadvocacy and coordination can bring peopleand institutions together to solve them.Collectively, the different arms of the system

have supported countries at all stages ofdevelopment, from middle-income states to the least developed countries (LDCs),and across all the major sectors, from agri-culture and environment to health, educationand employment.

UNDP helps integrate and coordinate UNresources so that they are readily accessible,while offering its own programmes in areaswhere it has recognized expertise. As a trusteddevelopment partner, UNDP works towards aworld where peace and prosperity are notrestricted to a few but available to all. ■

0

20

40

60

80

100

1 1000 1500 1600 1700 1820 1870 1913 1950 1973 2001 2030

Asia (excl. Japan)

Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States

Europe

Latin America

Japan

Former USSR

Africa

(projection)

Asia on the riseUntil 200 years ago, Asia was the dominant world economic power. Today, rapid economic growthrates are helping the region regain its former position, although development progress varies widely among and within countries in Asia.

Source: Angus Maddison,The World Economy: Historical Statistics 2003

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U N D P A N D A R E F O R M I N G U N6

Just over 60 years ago, the UN was creat-ed out of the hope that certain universalprinciples could guide everyone—peace,human rights, and shared prosperity and

freedom. Despite the challenges it has facedsince then, the UN today remains an embodi-ment of these principles, with a long record oftranslating them into people’s lives.

Owned by all countries, the UN enjoys aunique political legitimacy. It helps shape glob-al agendas, but also responds to the specificneeds of individual countries. UN developmentagencies have strong mandates and a wealth of skills and knowledge, honed by decades ofon-the-ground work in developing countries.

Every day, in every region of the world,UN organizations, including UNDP, work in partnership with governments and their citizens to advance human development.

Through these collaborations, the UN hasbrought the world close to the eradication ofpolio and assisted millions of refugees. It hascarved unprecedented space to advocate forwomen’s equality and empowerment. It hassupported the foundations of democracy, frombrokering peace talks to assisting elections,even in the most troubled places.

With its affiliated economists and advisors,the UN has promoted a now widely acceptedretooling of economic practice to include the basic dimensions of human well-being.It has demonstrated the increasingly criticallink between economic and environmentalsustainability.

Most recently, the UN has helped galvanize the world around the eight MDGs,the first common global agenda for humandevelopment.

All of these attributes are critical in the era of globalization, where common responsesto shared problems are increasingly impor-tant. Countries trust the UN as a centralpartner in identifying gaps, assisting nationalcapacities to reduce them, advocating inter-national standards especially for the margin-alized, and brokering mutual cooperationbetween nations.

But in stretching to respond to the manycritical problems of a complex world, oftenoperating in dangerous situations and isolatedplaces from which others shy away, the UNhas become fragmented in its efforts. Withnumerous divisions and agencies working onall aspects of development, in addition to itspolitical role, the UN has not always effective-ly marshaled the full strength of its resources.

UNDP and a Reforming UN:Coordinated Support for Development

“The imperative of efficiency,

transparency and accountability

lies at the heart of Member States’

demands for United Nations reform,

and forms a cornerstone of my own

priorities for the Organization.”—UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

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U N D P A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 0 7 7

Duplication and overlap have reduced effi-ciency and increased administrative costs.

Continued efforts to better coordinate thedifferent parts of the UN system will allowdiverse sources of expertise to flourish, whilereducing duplication. Closer integration will ensure that different initiatives build oneach other to maximize resources and results.Standardized and modern business practiceswill increase transparency, streamline opera-tions and channel the targeted use of funds.

With these goals in mind, UNDP chairsthe UN Development Group, a body of themajor UN agencies, funds and departmentsworking on development issues. It also housesthe UN Resident Coordinator system formanaging UN country teams. It has encour-aged the harmonization of UN activitiesnationally and globally, modeled partnershipsthat marry the strengths of different but complementary agencies, spearheaded the creation of common UN development assis-tance strategies and administered multi-donortrust funds in post-crisis situations.

Over the past several years, the global community has put in place a platform forachieving a more cohesive UN. This has beencarefully built through recommendations fromthe Millennium Declaration, the 2005 WorldSummit to assess progress on the MDGs and other development goals, the resolutionsof the UN General Assembly, the ParisDeclaration on Aid Effectiveness, and mostrecently, the recommendations of the High-Level Panel on UN System-wide Coherence.

The platform starts with the MDGs as a common international agenda, with theexpectation that national plans to achieve thegoals will be developed and supported. Theguiding principle is that development strate-gies must be nationally driven, backed by harmonized international assistance ratherthan a welter of individual interests. Partner-ships—among governments, the UN, otherinternational institutions, private enterpriseand civil society—can unleash new resourcesand capacities for development.

The UN has embarked on a number of ini-tiatives to increase coordination and efficiencyin support of all of these objectives, withUNDP an important source for helping thisprocess move forward. In 2006, when the UNSecretary-General convened the High-LevelPanel on UN System-wide Coherence, the

UNDP Administrator was asked to serve asan ex-officio member, offering input to thedeliberations of representatives from 13 coun-tries. The Panel’s final report, Delivering asOne, proposed a framework for unified UNoperations. It called for a well-governed, well-funded UN equipped to meet the changingneeds of countries, especially through strategicsupport for national development plans. Thereport proposed consolidating most UN coun-try activities under one strategic programme,one budgetary framework, one strong countryteam leader and one office where possible.

Eight countries have now agreed to pilotunified UN activities: Albania, Cape Verde,Mozambique, Pakistan, Rwanda, Tanzania,Uruguay and Viet Nam. Grappling with avariety of issues and at different stages ofdevelopment, the eight countries will exploreconfigurations for consolidation based onnational needs. Their experiences will eventu-ally help in establishing unified operations inother countries. All pilots will evolve in stepwith the requirements of national govern-ments, without disrupting the delivery ofexisting services.

Viet Nam moved forward with reformin 2007, building on efforts that began in2005. Six UN organizations in Hanoi have

How the UN will work as oneBy combining their strengths, UN agencies can work together to make a greater difference in people’s lives.Joint UN operations will vary by country, but the basic concept involves unified programmes, leadership and operations.

Programme

An overall UN development strategy supports national priorities.

Operations

Commonprocedures

simplifypartnerships.

Leadership

The ResidentCoordinator oversees the

UN team.

UN agencies

Each agency offers distinct

expertise.

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U N D P A N D A R E F O R M I N G U N8

agreed on a common plan for the period2006-2010. It groups the activities of individ-ual agencies under five strategic outcomeslinked to Viet Nam’s national Socio-Economic Development Plan. Attached tothe One Plan is the One Budget, coveringtotal resource requirements. For joint mobi-lization and allocation of non-core resources,a One Plan Fund has been established, wherefinal decisions rest with the UN ResidentCoordinator. Steps are also being taken tobring project management guidelines intocloser alignment with the systems of theVietnamese Government.

In the other pilots, UN agencies, consultingclosely with governments, other donors andcivil society, are moving toward commonfinancial systems and unified strategic pro-grammes as well.

UNDP: A catalyst for changeAs part of ongoing UN reform, UNDP hasbeen actively engaged in stepping up closercoordination as a chance to significantlyreduce the administrative burdens on devel-oping countries, especially those with alreadyover-stretched capacities.

Post-conflict countries have an especiallystrong need for cooperation, because theircapacities to absorb and manage what can bea flood of new resources are the weakest. Arecent review of the funds by the World Bank

and several bilateral donors concluded that asingle mechanism for managing resourcesallows for faster implementation of activities,the collection of information on whichinterventions are most successful, and consis-tent and comprehensive financial reporting to donors. In countries including the Demo-cratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq and Sudan,UNDP is playing a leading role in adminis-tering multi-donor trust funds that poolbillions of dollars in contributions to humani-tarian relief and development. A review ofUNDP’s administration of the UNDG IraqTrust Fund by PricewaterhouseCoopersconcluded that UNDP had gone above andbeyond its compliance requirements in termsof public transparency and reporting.

At the end of 2006, UNDP began admin-istering the UN’s new global PeacebuildingFund. As a global fund, it has the flexibilityto offer resources to individual countrieswhen other funding mechanisms may not bereadily available. Mandated to strengthenessential services and capacities to maintainpeace in post-conflict countries, the fund had already attracted an infusion of US$136million from 28 donor governments by early 2007, and begun disbursing support for better public administration, the rule oflaw and youth employment in Burundi andSierra Leone.

Non-conflict countries can also reap thebenefits of greater UN coordination. Workingtogether, UN country teams can help themorchestrate the full range of policies and pro-grammes—social, political, economic andenvironmental—they need to foster inclusivedevelopment and reach the MDGs. In manycountries, UNDP already has a long historyof working with governments on activitiesthat connect different social and economicsectors: the design of national developmentpolicies, the measurement of the MDGs, andthe cultivation of economic and governancecapacities. Through its coordination role, andgiven its strength and outreach as the UN’slargest development agency, UNDP can serveas a bridge between the UN system and over-all national development strategies, includingby drawing attention to proven expertise inother agencies.

For instance, in Yemen, the Governmentturned to the UN system for assistance withan MDG assessment. Under the leadership

700,000

600,000

500,000

400,000

300,000

200,000

100,000

02005 2006

UNDGIraq Trust Fund

Peacebuilding Fund

Sudan CommonHumanitarian Fund

DRC Pooled Fund

Lebanon Recovery Fund

The growth of development collaborationUNDP administers an increasing number of multi-donor trustfunds that pool resources and ease administrative burdens incountries recovering from conflict.

US$ millions

Source: Division for Resources Mobilization/UNDP

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5

U N D P A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 0 7 9

of the Resident Coordinator, the UN agen-cies in Yemen worked closely together on a comprehensive programme of support. TheUN and other development partners steeredthe process through thematic workinggroups, some of which had been created forYemen’s poverty reduction strategy paper.Each UN agency offered specialized skills—UNDP and the ILO on economic growth;UNDP on the environment, decentralizationand gender; the UN Population Fund and theWorld Health Organization (WHO) onhealth and population; and the Food andAgriculture Organization (FAO) and WorldFood Programme on food security. Yemen’slatest national development strategy, whichbegan in 2006, draws extensively upon theresults of the assessment. It integrates all keyissues related to achieving the MDGs, andcontains precise targets and specific actionson priorities such as economic growth, accessto safe drinking water and girls’ education.Yemen is now using the assessment for talkson membership with the Gulf CooperationCouncil. Along with a public investment plansupported by UNDP, the assessment alsobecame the basis for a council-sponsored

donor conference in late 2006 that raisedalmost $5 billion for Yemen’s national devel-opment strategy.

Other forms of collaboration coalescearound specific development issues. By 2006,joint UN teams on AIDS had been estab-lished in about 60 countries, managed by UN Resident Coordinators. In Lesotho, one

Spanish Secretary of State for Interna-tional CooperationLeire Pajín Iraola(left) and UNDPAdministrator KemalDervis (right) sign anagreement for a newfund affirming thebenefits of multi-lateral cooperation.

Spain contributes to UN reform and the MDGsIn early 2007, the Government of Spain made the largest single contribution ever to the UN development system, committing $700 million to set up the UNDP-Spain MDGAchievement Fund.

The move signaled Spain’s commitment to multilateral cooperation andthe future of the UN at the country level.The MDG Fund supports pro-grammes in a number of countries jointly implemented by UN countryteams. It emphasizes high-impact development policies, the scaling upof proven strategies and innovations in development practices.

The fund brings together knowledge and skills from across the UN system in the service of national strategies. It targets issues funda-mental to the accomplishment of the MDGs and other internationallyagreed development goals, including gender equality, culture anddevelopment, economic governance, youth employment and socialintegration, migration and the environment.

Spain has steadily increased its multilateral development assistance in recent years, giving the UN particular priority and integrating the Millennium Declaration into its own nationalpolicy.“(W)e are working together with an effective instrument, the United Nations system,and in particular UNDP,” says Spanish Secretary of State for International Cooperation LeirePajín Iraola.“Only through a common effort—that of multilateral institutions, led by the UN,together with bilateral donors—will it be possible to realize the noble obligation assumed byall of us in 2000, the Millennium Development Goals.”

The Government of Yemen has drawn on the combinedexpertise of the UN country team to devise its latestnational develop-ment strategy,which includes girls’ education as a priority.

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of the countries most affected by HIV andAIDS, a joint UN team on AIDS has mergedtechnical and financial resources to help theGovernment establish a National AIDSCommission and a National AIDS StrategicPlan to tackle the epidemic; it addresses issuesfrom education to drug access. Standardized

indicators measure progress, and a unifieddatabase system captures variations in preva-lence rates and other critical data. This toolsupports the consistent and routine sharing of information among the commission, theMinistry of Health and Social Welfare, andinternational development partners such as the UN, the US Government and the WorldBank. The UN system has aligned its own menu of joint programmes behind thenational strategy.

At the start of 2007, UNDP joined the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) inlaunching the Poverty and EnvironmentFacility in Nairobi, Kenya. Building on asuccessful earlier joint initiative, it will supportdeveloping countries in integrating soundenvironmental management into povertyreduction and growth policies. The ClimatePartnership, another collaborative venture,will assist seven African nations as they beginto “climate proof ” their economies, includingthrough better navigation of the internationalsystem of emissions credits. The countriesinclude the Democratic Republic of theCongo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozam-bique, Tanzania and Zambia.

In countries such as Rwanda, UNDP andUNEP are already helping to develop nationalcapacities for assessing economic and environ-mental connections, and integrating these intonational poverty reduction strategies. The twoagencies have brought together officials fromthe realms of finance, agriculture, the environ-ment, infrastructure and local governance towork on stronger, more consistent policies.Joint support in 2006 assisted the Ministry ofFinance and Economic Planning in moving inthis direction by calculating, for the first time,the economic costs of environmental degrada-tion. Falling water supplies, for example, havecaused energy shortfalls, which in turn reduceprospects for livelihoods.

To strengthen UN and civil society partner-ships, given the critical inputs civil societyorganizations can make to UN programmes, in2006, UNDP continued leading the appoint-ment of civil society focal points on a numberof UN country teams. In 2007, UNDP beganleading the establishment of a global UN Civil Society Trust Fund, on behalf of the UNDevelopment Group. This fund, established bythe then Secretary-General in response to the2004 report of the Panel of Eminent Personson UN-Civil Society relations led by formerpresident of Brazil, Fernando HenriqueCardoso, will advance UN coordination byproviding seed money to UN country teamspursuing innovative initiatives with civil society organizations.

Responding to UN General Assembly recommendations, UNDP continues to workwith other UN agencies and within its ownprogrammes to champion a UN-wide focus onnational capacity development as the key forcountries to manage their own sustainable and equitable development paths, includingthrough South-South cooperation. UNDP is also supporting better networking of the UN’s rich reserves of development policyknowledge. This should ensure that UNexpertise flows more readily into developmentpartnerships, as UNDP can already affirmthrough the recognized value of its in-houseknowledge networks. In many respects,UNDP has used its own operations, whichhave rapidly evolved in recent years, todemonstrate what can be achieved by updatingand innovating UN practices in response tochanging needs. ■

U N D P A N D A R E F O R M I N G U N10

Rwanda holds aworld record in thenumber of women

in Parliaments:nearly 50 percent. In

February 2007,Rwanda hosted 400

delegates for aWomen Parliamen-

tarians InternationalConference on

“Gender, NationBuilding and the

Role of Parliaments.”Rwandan womenparliamentarianshere interact with

Gertrude Mongella(second from left),

President of the Pan-African Parliament.

Rwanda is one ofeight countriespiloting unified

UN activities.

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In 2007, the world is halfway between the 2000 agreementon the MDGs and their 2015 endpoint. As a global commit-ment to achieving the basics of development, the goalsprovide a natural platform for coordinated developmentstrategies, and a guiding framework for the programmes of

UN agencies, including UNDP. While the MDGs are technicallywithin reach, uneven growth rates and development dispar-ities mean progress varies by goal and region. The chartsbelow show current trends on some of the targets that guideachievement of the goals.

The MDGs: A common global agenda

Eradicate extreme poverty and hungerTarget 1: Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion ofpeople whose income is less than US$1 a day

Population below $1 purchasing power parity (PPP) per dayPercentage of population living below a $1 per day 1/, 2/

1/ High-income economies, as defined by The World Bank, are excluded.2/ Estimates by the World Bank in May 2006.

0

5

10

15

20

25

NorthernAfrica

Latin America and the Caribbean

Sub-Saharan Africa

CIS

South-eastern Asia

WesternAsia

SouthernAsia

Eastern Asia 1990 1997 2006

Oceania

Promote gender equality and empower womenTarget 4: Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably by 2005, and to all levels ofeducation no later than 2015

Goal 3:

Goal 5:

Goal 4:

Goal 2:Goal 1:

40

60

80

100Eastern Asia

1991 1999 2004

Sub-Saharan Africa

Latin America and the Caribbean South-eastern

Asia

Oceania

CISSouthern

AsiaWestern

Asia

NorthernAfrica

Achieve universal primary educationTarget 3: Ensure that, by 2015, boys and girls everywhere willbe able to complete a full course of primary schooling

Net enrolment ratio in primary educationPrimary-level enrolees per 100 children of enrolment age 1/

20

40

60

80

1001990 2004

NorthernAfrica

Latin America and the Caribbean

Sub-Saharan Africa

CIS

South-eastern Asia

Western Asia

Southern Asia

Eastern Asia

Improve maternal healthTarget 6: Reduce by three-quarters, between 1990 and 2015,the maternal mortality ratio

Proportion of births attended by skilled health personnelPercentage of deliveries

0

5

10

15

20

25

mill

ion

s

2004 2006

North Africa and Middle East

Latin America and the Caribbean

Sub-Saharan Africa

Eastern Europe and Central Asia

Asia

Oceania

Regional distribution of adults and children living withHIV and AIDS (estimates)

0

20

40

60

80

1001990 2004

NorthernAfrica

Latin America and the Caribbean

Sub-Saharan Africa

Oceania South-eastern

Asia

Western Asia

Southern Asia

Eastern Asia

CIS

Ensure environmental sustainabilityTarget 10: Halve, by 2015, the proportion of people withoutsustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation

0

50

100

150

2001990 2004

Northern Africa

Latin America and the Caribbean

Sub-Saharan Africa

CIS

South-eastern Asia Western Asia

SouthernAsia

Eastern Asia

Oceania

Reduce child mortalityTarget 5: Reduce by two-thirds, between 1990 and 2015,the under-five mortality rate

Under-five mortality rateDeaths per 1000 live births

Proportion of seats held by women in national parliamentPercentage of parliamentary seats occupied by women (Single or Lower House only)

Proportion of population with access to improved sanitationPercentage of population

50

60

70

80

Least developed countries

Developing countries

1996 1998 2000 2002 2004

Proportion of total developed country imports (by value and excluding arms) from developing countries and leastdeveloped countries,admitted free of duty

Percentage of total developed country imports

0

10

20

30

40

50 Sub-Saharan Africa 1990 2002

Latin America and the Caribbean

Northern Africa and Western Asia

Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)

South-eastern Asia and Oceania

Southern Asia

Eastern Asia

Goal 7:

Goal 6:

1/ The net enrolment ratios in primary education correspond to school years ending inthe years displayed

Sources: Goals 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 and 8: The Millennium Development Goals Report, Statistical Annex 2006,UN. Goal 6: Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic, A UNAIDS 10th Anniversary Special Edition, UNAIDS.

Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseasesTarget 7: Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse thespread of HIV/AIDS

Goal 8: Develop a global partnership for developmentTarget 12: Develop further an open, rule-based, predictable,non-discriminatory trading and financial system

U N D P A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 0 7 11

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U N D P P R O G R A M M E S12

Supporting its UN coordination role,UNDP implements programmes mainly in four interrelated developmentareas where it has extensive expertise:

• Poverty reduction programmes emphasizeequitable growth, inclusive globalization andthe achievement of the MDGs. The HIVand AIDS practice aims to curb the epidemicthrough targeted actions in national povertyreduction strategies and increased services.

• Democratic governance programmes helpstrengthen governing institutions andincrease civic participation.

• Crisis prevention and recovery programmessupport risk reduction and aid in restoringthe foundations of development.

• Environment and energy programmes help integrate natural resource issues intodevelopment strategies.

Across all of its activities, UNDP looks for ways to foster inclusion and reduce thedisparities that hinder equitable development.UNDP’s respect for national priorities, andhistory of working closely with governments,civil society and other partners, gives it the credibility and know-how to nurturedevelopment strategies that are embedded in public acceptance and responsive tonational needs. UNDP also helps countriesenlarge national capacities for responsivegovernance and balanced economicmanagement, and to maintain focus on the MDGs. These elements create the basic framework that countries require tojumpstart progress.

Partnerships generate resources andcollective commitment to solving difficultchallenges. Through its worldwide networks,UNDP connects countries—north and south alike—to comprehensive globalknowledge and expertise. Drawing on thesenetworks, UNDP offers the skills andflexibility to tailor programmes to specificdevelopment needs, from the LDCs tomiddle-income countries, often by facilitatingexchanges between developing countriesfacing similar concerns.

As part of the UN reform process, UNDPis fine-tuning its activities globally and withincountries to ensure that it does not duplicatethe expertise offered by other parts of the UN system. UNDP support is focused onresponding to country needs, including bydirecting requests to other parts of the systemas appropriate. ■

UNDP Programmes:Foundations for Strong and Equitable Societies

UNDP programme expenditures 2006US$ millions

43%Democraticgovernance

$1,368

12% Environment and energy$363

29% Poverty reduction$928

11% Crisis preventionand recovery$362

5% HIV/AIDS$141

Source: Operations Support Group/UNDP

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Poor countries and people face daunt-ing challenges, but their constraintshave been defined and are to a greatextent solvable. With national com-

mitment and the support of the internationalcommunity, they can achieve more equitableeconomic growth and achieve the humandevelopment goals broadly articulated in the MDGs.

Many developing countries, and particu-larly the LDCs, suffer from a lack of integration with the rest of the world thatmight otherwise help them progress. Over

80 percent of foreign direct investments indeveloping countries flows into about 12 better performing nations. Developingcountry economies heavily dependent onagricultural exports struggle with high tariffsthat still protect rich countries. While morethan half the people in high-income nationshave access to the Internet, a basic tool ofglobalization, only eight of every 1,000 people in the LDCs enjoy the same access.

UNDP: Targeted plans and resources

UNDP’s poverty reduction programmes areoriented around assisting developing coun-tries strengthen capacities for designing andimplementing strategies to achieve equitablegrowth and human development. Throughservices such as policy analysis, costingassessments and support to enlarge institu-tional capacities, UNDP supports countries to put in place national and local plans withtargeted actions and resources. To make these sustainable and inclusive, UNDP worksclosely with national partners to uncover and address the sources of persistent socialand economic disparities, especially one ofthe most endemic—discrimination againstwomen. Broad-based participation in

Poverty Reduction:Mapping the road topro-poor growth andhuman development

U N D P A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 0 7 13

In early 2007, UNSecretary-GeneralBan Ki-moon (inset, left) visited the crowded Kiberaslum in Nairobi,Kenya. The slum,which lacks manybasic public services,borders a lushlymanicured golfcourse.

1872_textc2.qxp 7/25/07 3:37 PM Page 13

formulating development solutions includesreaching out to civil society, the private sectorand other stakeholders.

Some specific areas of focus at UNDPinvolve linking poverty reduction withemployment generation, the wider availabilityof financial services and access to moderntechnology. UNDP also assists countries onincreasing their regional and global economicintegration, such as through developingstronger capacities to negotiate trade regula-tions and manage development financing.

For instance, in Lesotho, UNDP support-ed a national process of consultation thatbrought together government officials andcivil society groups around the formulation of the national poverty reduction strategy,including to discuss the integration ofwomen’s rights and empowerment. The strategy now includes actions to reducewomen’s vulnerabilities to HIV and AIDS,and to close gender gaps in education.

Malawi’s declining soil fertility, depend-ence on rain, and recurrent droughts andfloods associated with global warming

contribute to high rates of poverty. They alsoimperil food security and reinforce chronicmalnutrition. In 2005, the Government pro-posed an input scheme of heavy subsidies forseed and fertilizer so that poor householdswould have the means to improve their liveli-hoods and food intake. An early supporter of the plan, UNDP helped the Governmentto bring together a range of other interna-tional development partners to provide concerted assistance. It aided the mobiliza-tion of additional resources and assisted witha national public information campaign forfarmers, local officials and private sector suppliers about the scheme. In 2006 and2007, along with ample rainfall, the inputprogramme helped Malawi achieve recordmaize harvests, even as neighbouring coun-tries continued to face shortfalls. UNDP isnow working with the Government and other development partners to build on thesegains by linking increased food security toeconomic growth, better nutrition and areduction in Malawi’s vulnerability to climatechange, such as through water harvesting andcrop diversification.

In 2006, a regional initiative in EasternEurope and the Commonwealth of Indepen-dent States helped those countries shareknowledge about successful economic transi-tion strategies. In Georgia, UNDP wasinstrumental in supporting the Governmentin developing policies explicitly linking economic growth and business developmentwith employment generation. UNDP alsohelped the Department of Statistics developcapacities to measure Georgia’s substantialinformal economy, as a step towards integrat-ing this sector in overall economic planning.A partnership with the Ministry of Educa-tion has focused on connecting vocationaltraining with the needs of the private sector.Other forms of assistance have aided thereform of public administration to updatemanagement practices, fight corruption andimprove communication with the public.

To support the political and economicdecentralization unfolding in many countries,UNDP also works directly within sub-national regions and local communities tointroduce economic development strategieswith proven track records, or to pilot newapproaches likely to qualify for replicationelsewhere. In Tajikistan, UNDP has been

U N D P P R O G R A M M E S : P O V E R T Y R E D U C T I O N14

Industrialized economies

Central and Eastern Europe and CIS

Developing economies

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

Accountant Computer programmer

First-leveleducation

teacher

Hotel receptionist

Note: Average in this chart denotes a basic average of the countries with available data.

Source: ILO, Key Indicators of the Labour Market, 4th Edition (Geneva, 2005), tables 16a and 16b.

Labourer

The women’s wage gapAcross jobs in every region, women still earn less than men—exceptin the once centrally planned economies of Central and EasternEurope and the CIS. Wage gaps are greatest among the most andleast skilled workers.

Figures represent the percentage of male wages

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active for nearly a decade in providing micro-finance funds in 100 rural municipalities.These have proven an essential lifeline forpeople struggling to support themselves andtheir families in the wake of the collapse ofthe Soviet Union and the disastrous socialand economic consequences of Tajikistan’scivil war. Almost 80,000 families have beenable to lift themselves out of poverty by using loans for breeding livestock, cultivatingvegetables and running sewing shops. Profitsfrom the micro-finance funds support community development priorities such assystems for clean drinking water and the renovation of schools or health clinics. Asimilar project in neighbouring Kyrgyzstanhas supported the formation of nearly 2,000local self-help groups that pool collective savings and provide their own loans.

UNDP continues its concerted efforts toengage the private sector as the essentialengine of dynamic and inclusive economies;UNDP worked with the private sector in 103 countries in 2006, 50 percent more thanthree years ago. UNDP plays a key role inbringing businesses into the Global Compact,launched by the UN in 2000 to involve businesses in solving the challenges of global-ization. Over 3,000 companies from 100countries now participate in the Compact,making it the world’s largest voluntary corporate citizenship initiative. Within individual countries, UNDP brings togetherdifferent branches of the UN with businessand political leaders to look at innovativebusiness practices that benefit commerce andhuman development at large.

In Moldova, as a result of signing theGlobal Compact, a group of leading com-panies formed a network in 2006 to promotecorporate social responsibility, includingthrough the adoption of principles protectinglabour rights and the environment. GlobalCompact signatories in Trinidad and Tobagoare collaborating on coordinating differentcorporate social responsibility initiatives,including by linking them more concretely tonational development goals.

UNDP also works directly with nationaland multinational companies to reduce pover-ty and extend services to underdevelopedareas. In Kenya, under the aegis of its globalGrowing Sustainable Business initiative,UNDP has established 10 partnership

projects to help improve businesses and liveli-hoods. One project works with Kevian, ajuice manufacturer. Until recently, it importedall the concentrates for its mango juice from abroad. Kenya is an ample producer ofmangoes, but many rot on the ground due to poor harvesting and marketing systems.The Growing Sustainable Business initiativehas worked with local farmers on improved harvesting, marketing and pest managementprocedures, and linked them to Kevian.The farmers have an opportunity to improvetheir livelihoods; Kevian benefits from greaterflexibility in its supplies and protection fromforeign exchange rate fluctuations. Combined,Kenya’s 10 Growing Sustainable Business initiative projects are expected to generateover $70 million in additional revenues andcreate thousands of jobs, reaching an estimat-ed 42,000 beneficiaries.

A partnership with ANZ Bank in Fiji hasbrought the first modern banking services torural areas. By some estimates, 70 percent of

U N D P A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 0 7 15

At the Kevian factory in Kenya,an employee tests mango juice.UNDP is helping thecompany strengthenlinks with localsuppliers, a steptowards improvedlivelihoods.

1872_textc2.qxp 7/25/07 3:37 PM Page 15

people in the Pacific region have no access tobanks. Through mobile banking units thattravel to 250 designated rural villages, over60,000 accounts had been established by theend of 2006, two years into the project.Customers can open checking and savingsaccounts, and once they’ve saved for six

months can qualify for credit services.UNDP has now replicated the programme inthe Solomon Islands and Tonga.

UNDP’s renowned series of national,sub-national and regional human develop-ment reports continued breaking new groundin 2006. Since the reports emphasize broadconsultations to gather an array of perspec-tives, they often reveal development gaps thatmay have been poorly understood or over-looked. A report on the Asia-Pacific region,Trade on Human Terms: Transforming Tradefor Human Development in Asia and thePacific, flagged the fact that Asia’s embrace offreer trade has failed to automatically gener-ate enough jobs for poorer citizens—the phenomenon of “jobless growth.” It presentedeight recommendations, including for moreequitable tax regimes, recalibrated interestrates to combat jobless growth, and slowerbut more productive negotiations on multi-lateral trade agreements. The report attractedextensive media coverage throughout theregion and beyond, inspired public debate,and grabbed the attention of national policymakers, who requested translations in locallanguages so they could use it as an infor-mational tool to guide policymaking.

In Nigeria, UNDP partnered with ShellPetroleum Development Company on areport about the oil-rich but troubled Niger Delta. Prepared through extensiveconsultations within the region and launchedby the then Nigerian President OlusegunObasanjo at a forum to discuss the region’sfuture, the report bluntly assessed the largedevelopment deficits in the region. Itproposed a seven-point agenda for action,stressing peace and reconciliation, bettergovernance and sustainable development.UNDP is now using the report as a basis for additional work with Shell and Norway’sOil-for-Development Programme. Thesecollaborations include initiatives to expandyouth employment and to assist local govern-ments in better managing oil revenues forlocal development.

Chile’s 2006 human development reportconcluded that the widespread use of moderntechnology will not automatically improvehuman development unless it fosters socialinclusion, including through equitable access.The Government subsequently reformulatedits strategy for the development of an

U N D P P R O G R A M M E S : P O V E R T Y R E D U C T I O N16

In Fiji, ANZ Bank and UNDP have

extended modernbanking services tounder-served rural

communities throughinnovative mobile

banking units.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Poorest 20% National average

Source: Human Development Report 2006

1995 1992Colombia Morocco

20032005

Pro-poor policies make a differenceWith targeted development strategies, Colombiaand Morocco have extended sanitation services topoorer members of society.

Access to sanitation (%)

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information society to expand technologyeducation in schools and to promote the use of technology among small businesses.SUBTEL, the Government’s telecommunica-tions office, has integrated the report into its short and long-term work plans. Thisincludes a strategic decision to focus less onopening new public telecentres and more onimproving existing ones through strongerlinks to the communities in which they arelocated. Municipalities have used the reportto frame local digital strategies that aim toincrease the reach of telecommunicationsservices and boost public participationthrough new municipal websites.

UNDP’s ongoing support for public policyresearch includes the International PovertyCentre in Brazil. The centre is a joint venturewith the Institute for Applied EconomicResearch, a leading economic policy organi-

zation affiliated with the Brazilian Govern-ment. A hub for the exchange and generationof the latest ideas on policies and practicesrelated to poverty, especially from developingcountries, the centre offers lectures and fellowships, and produces research papers bytop development practitioners and scholars.

For countries facing gaps in their ownresearch capacities, UNDP’s detailed map-ping and analysis support serves as a criticalinterim resource. In some cases, such as thenational human development reports, UNDPfosters national partnerships that through theprocess of drafting the reports help expandcapabilities as people work together and learnfrom each other. In the end, all of UNDP’sresearch work serves one purpose: to helpcountries expand capacities for developmentthat is inclusive, and that advances people’soptions to create better lives. ■

U N D P A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 0 7 17

UNCDF: Broadening the reach of financial servicesThe UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), under the administration of UNDP, works withLDCs on programmes to improve local development, including through access to basic financial services. Worldwide, up to two billion people are excluded from access to formalfinancial products and services, which hinder progress in everything from building a home togetting an education. The situation is particularly dire in sub-Saharan Africa, where more than90 percent of people cannot get a loan or use a bank.

Building Inclusive Financial Sectors in Africa is a joint UNCDF-UNDP programme. Active in 10 countries, it finds ways to provide sustainable access to financial services for poor and low-income people. It also supports the generation of employment and economic growth,including by encouraging small enterprises.

The first country to use the programme has been Sierra Leone, where with the additionalinvolvement of KfW and Cordaid, a $12.5 million initiative was launched. The programme hasinvested in a series of financial service providers, under the guidance of a joint investmentcommittee comprising the programme partners as well as the Bank of Sierra Leone and theSierra Leone Ministry of Development. By 2006, nine new micro-finance institutions were servingnearly 43,000 clients. Five of the institutions had become self-sufficient. One had branchedout into a series of different towns. Another had started negotiations with a major interna-tional investor. The success of the project has attracted an additional $3.9 million in fundingfor continued expansion.

UNCDF is currently conducting financial sector assessments in 22 countries to assist in devel-oping national policies that promote inclusive financial mechanisms. The fund will use thesepolicies to guide additional investments, targeting the provision of financial services to atleast 3.5 million Africans by 2010. Half the beneficiaries will be women, and the great majoritywill come from the rural poor.

In 2006, UNCDF and UNDP jointly organized the UN Conference on Financial Inclusion inAfrica. Delegates from 53 countries agreed to develop a network of governments, centralbanks, financial service providers, development agencies and others to mobilize resources forextending financial services to all Africans.

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Poverty broadens the spread of HIV. Poorerpeople generally have less access to infor-mation about preventing exposure to thevirus and fewer treatment options onceinfected. HIV in turn impoverishes familiesand communities through illness and loss offamily breadwinners and caregivers. Poorercountries struggle with overburdened healthcare systems, and limited resources forprevention and treatment. These problemsare exacerbated by economic fallout fromHIV and AIDS, including reducedproductivity and labour shortages.

Through its HIV and AIDS practice,UNDP helps countries integrate responses tothe epidemic across the different sectors ofnational development plans, supports strongpublic service capacities, and mobilizesgovernments and civil society groups behindresponses to the epidemic. It is a foundingmember of UNAIDS, the joint UN pro-gramme that coordinates the efforts andresources of 10 agencies making distinctcontributions to stopping the epidemic.

With the World Bank, for example,UNDP and UNAIDS have joined forcesbehind a programme to help countriesprioritize AIDS in national poverty reductionstrategies, including by accounting for theepidemic in macroeconomic and sectoralpolicies. Throughout 2006, the programmehelped several countries make strategicchanges. Zambia expanded activities toaddress HIV beyond the health sector,allocating new resources to the transport,tourism, mining and agriculture budgets.In Rwanda and Senegal, representatives from the national AIDS commissions parti-cipated in drafting poverty reduction strategypapers, offering insights drawn from exten-sive experience in managing the epidemic.Ghana issued District Development PlanningGuidelines requiring all sectors to integrateactions on AIDS in their medium-termdevelopment plans. Tanzania has invited civil society groups to participate in publicexpenditure reviews on AIDS resources, andcreated a forum for civil society and theGovernment to work together on monitoringthe implementation of poverty plans.

In Ecuador, UNDP has partnered withUNAIDS and the Spanish Agency forInternational Cooperation to help the centralGovernment develop a new, more far-reaching National Strategic HIV/AIDS Plan,launched in 2007. Preparing the plan broughttogether representatives from many quarters,including the prison system, the NationalChildren’s Council, universities and busi-nesses. Grounded in analysis that recognizesthe epidemic is more than a health concern,the plan elaborates new actions on multiplefronts, from general prevention to specificinterventions targeted to high-risk groups.Parallel work with the UN DevelopmentFund for Women (UNIFEM) has used thetraining of government officials and membersof civil society to raise the profile of gender-related vulnerability to AIDS, given the sharpincrease in prevalence rates among low-riskheterosexual women. UNDP has also helpedEcuador’s major municipalities—Quito andGuayaquil—create the first municipal AIDSpolicies, which led to the establishment oftesting and counselling services. In 2006,work began to extend similar strategies to 39 local and three provincial governmentscovering half of Ecuador’s population.

UNDP plays a major role in helpingnational partners develop their ability to makefull use of grants from the Global Fund toFight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, aninternational funding mechanism that assistscountries in significantly scaling up theirresources to fight these diseases. UNDP has successfully developed the capacities ofnational entities to take on the principalrecipient role of the grants in Argentina,Benin, Burkina Faso, El Salvador and Haiti.By the end of 2006, UNDP was managing 58Global Fund grants in 24 countries, disbursing $155 million for the year. In the DemocraticRepublic of the Congo, for example, UNDPhas administered three grants resulting in new prevention strategies, education andcounselling for one million people, and bettermonitoring of blood transfusion processes.

In collaboration with the UN Children’sFund (UNICEF), UNAIDS and WHO inAngola, UNDP has overseen a Global Fundgrant that has helped the Ministry of Healthimprove its technical skills, financial andmanagement capacities, and systems formonitoring and evaluation. The grant has

HIV and AIDS:Curbing an epidemic

U N D P P R O G R A M M E S : H I V A N D A I D S18

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U N D P A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 0 7 19

resulted in the development of a sentinelsurveillance system, and the opening of 17 voluntary counselling and testing centresaround the country. Nine hospitals now helpmothers prevent transmission of HIV to theirchildren, and more than 3,000 medical andparamedical personnel have been trained onAIDS care. By early 2007, over 7,000Angolans were receiving antiretroviral drugs.

In Burkina Faso, UNDP works through itsown HIV and AIDS programme to supportPAMAC, the French acronym for a nationalnetwork linking community groups of peopleliving with HIV and AIDS. PAMAC, whichworks under the guidance of the nationalAIDS council, channels UNDP technical andfinancial resources into helping local groupsmanage programmes in their communities. By2006, PAMAC was backing 142 communityorganizations and had trained 403 of their rep-resentatives in techniques related to voluntarycounselling and testing, access to communalcare, prevention and organizational manage-ment. The project as a whole benefits 350,000people through increased access to informationand testing services. It offers regular support toover 20,000 people who have developed AIDS,including home and hospital care, workshopson treatment options, and legal services.

Beyond national AIDS strategies and services, a priority for UNDP is assistinggovernments in negotiating the complexitiesof international trade agreements andintellectual property rights covering anti-retroviral medications. Late in 2006, UNDPled a consortium of regional and internationalorganizations—including UNAIDS, theCaribbean Community, the Pan AmericanHealth Organization and the Common-wealth Secretariat—to convene a workshopon these issues for 12 Caribbean countriesthat face some of the world’s highest HIVprevalence rates. Government and civilsociety representatives reviewed nationalpatent laws, and discussed trade rules and the balance between patent protections andaccess to medicine. They agreed on a series of recommendations, including for improvedcommunications between trade and publichealth officials, and for increased investmentsin local research and development. UNDP is now assisting Barbados on its compulsorylicense, which broadens access to patentedproducts for the greater public good, and ishelping Haiti and St. Lucia review nationalpatent laws. These are crucial steps towardsensuring that medicine reaches people whoneed it most. ■

North Africa and the Middle East

Eastern Europe andCentral Asia

East, South andSoutheast Asia

Latin America andthe Caribbean

Sub-Saharan Africa

Peo

ple

rece

ivin

g t

her

apy

(th

ou

san

ds)

End 2002

Mid-2003

End 2003

Mid-2004

End 2004

Mid-2005

End 2005

Mid- 2006

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

1,400

1,600

1,800

Expanded HIV treatment In three years, concerted efforts have tripled the number of people in low andmiddle-income countries receiving antiretroviral therapy, saving up to 350,000 lives.

Number of people on antiretroviral therapy in low- and middle-income countries, 2002-2006

Source: WHO/UNAIDS 2006

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Significant strides have been madetowards a more democratic world.Still, far too many democracy deficitsremain. These occur whenever too

much power is concentrated in too fewhands, or when basic public services fail tofunction or reach people in outlying areas.They arise when certain groups are deniedaccess to the political process because theycannot vote or join political parties, or whenthe law is not consistently applied, impunityprevails, and access to justice is denied.

When democracy deficits persist, theyweaken societies by reinforcing inequities.So while it is essential to help countries putthe basic mechanisms of democracy in place,such as elections, it is equally critical tosupport their capacity to make participationmeaningful, in ways that touch the lives ofcitizens at large.

UNDP: More representativeinstitutions

UNDP’s support for democratic governanceis grounded in principles that reflect theorganization’s core values, beginning with the basic purpose of human developmentbeing to enlarge people’s choices. Democraticgovernance expands people’s choices and aimsat people controlling their own destinies.

To deliver the power of its potential to itspeople, a democracy needs institutions thatwork, such as a civil service that pays a decentwage; a justice system that operates inde-pendently; a parliament that stands up whenthose in power step out of line; power, water

and other utilities that deliver services efficiently to all and a free media that givescitizens the information they need to decidehow to cast their next vote. Building a strongdemocracy requires institutions that function.Institutions cannot be developed overnightand need to be built into each country’sdevelopment strategy.

Reaching the MDGs requires politicalwill. Achieving the goals by 2015 is not justabout technical choices. It also, and perhapsprimarily, depends on whether the poor havepolitical power and a voice in the politicaldecisions that affect them.

UNDP has become one of the world’sleading providers of services to bolster democratic governance because it has provenit can deliver on the ground, often underextraordinarily difficult circumstances, inevery region. It works with countries tostrengthen the core democratic institutions ofcentral, regional and local governments. Itwidens the channels for interaction betweenpeople and the state, including elections,political parties, civil society movements andthe media. It helps develop the capacities ofgovernance institutions to be more responsiveto constituents, which improves accounta-bility and representation. These contributionsfurther the fair and consistent implementa-tion of laws, and the equitable provision ofpublic services.

UNDP places a special emphasis on governance capacities related to economicmanagement because such management,informed by publicly agreed priorities, isessential for sustainable and equitable economic development. Moreover, UNDPsupports democratic governance processes to help ensure they are grounded in interna-tionally-recognized principles, includinghuman rights.

UNDP supports an election somewhere in the world on average every two weeks. Inmuch of its elections work, UNDP cooperatesclosely with the UN Department of PoliticalAffairs, to bring together political and opera-tional expertise.

For instance, in the 2006 election in theDemocratic Republic of the Congo (DRC),UNDP worked closely with the UN Mission in the DRC to support the newlycreated Independent Electoral Commission.Together, they steered the largest and most

DemocraticGovernance:Fostering broad and meaningfulparticipation

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complex UN electoral assistance mission ever undertaken, a $432 million joint effortfunded by the Government, along with theEuropean Commission and other donors.The election, with an 80 percent participationrate, was a major accomplishment in a country where up to four million people have died from the consequences of civil war, and democratic elections had not beenheld in more than 40 years. UNDP and theUN Mission provided vital technical andlogistical support that helped the GuyanaElections Commission design and distribute30 million ballot papers, and train 264,000electoral workers. UNDP is providing support to this new democracy to develop the capacities to deliver basic social servicesto its constituents.

Preparing for an election can requiremonths or years, and involves working onaspects from constitutional amendments tosecurity preparations. Supporting Guyana inits efforts to hold a successful 2006 electionbegan with a UNDP strategy first developedin 2002. The strategy targeted both the “soft-

ware” and “hardware” of an election—in thiscase, social cohesion and electoral mechanics,respectively. Guyana has experienced violentelections since 1992, typically sparked byaccusations of vote rigging, and drawing ondeep distrust among different communities.The tension has dragged down Guyana’spotentially vibrant economy, keeping a fullthird of Guyanese in poverty. UNDP drewtogether national and international partnersand other UN agencies around a programmeworking on multiple fronts. Civil societygroups and political parties participated inmonitoring constitutional reforms and politi-cal agreements, as the slow pace of reformshad been a major point of contention.Through a collaboration with Guyana’sEthnic Relations Commission, 5,000 citizensjoined local and regional dialogues on the his-torical causes of conflict and ways to promoteharmony. These led up to a national confer-ence on conflict resolution. Journalists com-mitted to more balanced political reporting by signing a media code of conduct. WithUNDP support, the Elections Commission

During the run-up to the DRC’s 2006election, a trainingsession honed theskills of peoplemanaging pollingstations.

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procured electoral materials, tested the voterslist and revised the system for reporting onresults. This multi-pronged effort paid off during the vote. Media coverage improved andcivil society groups delivered an outpouring ofpeace messages. For the first time in memory,the election was free of violence, and politicalopponents readily accepted the outcome.

A successful experience in Benin usedelections as an opening to improve the ethicsand transparency of political parties. Leadingup to the 2006 elections, UNDP worked with a spectrum of political party leaders,private sector representatives and civil societygroups on developing a code of conduct with 12 basic ethical principles. All 26 presidential candidates and the leaders of

the 10 main political parties eventually signedon to the code. Some even began using it aspart of their campaigns. The elections wentpeacefully, and the exercise was repeated forthe 2007 legislative elections, becoming anopportunity for political parties and candi-dates to promote understanding of democracyagain by promising their constituents theywould uphold the code.

Globally, women’s lack of participation inpolitics remains one of the most significantdemocracy deficits. UNDP stands firmlybehind the expansion of women’s participationas voters, candidates and political leaders. In2006, it assisted Kuwait as women for the firsttime ever participated in parliamentary elec-tions. Before and during the poll, UNDP partnered with civil society organizations tohelp prepare women running as candidatesand to disseminate information about votingso that all women who wanted to vote could do so. Billboards, posters on buses andadvertisements on television urged women tolet their voices be heard. A leading expert on Islamic law came from Morocco to hold a series of seminars on Islam and women's political participation. In the end, no womencandidates won seats in the new Parliament,but 35 percent of eligible women voted, a participation rate higher than in some long-established democracies.

In Mauritania, UNDP worked with threeother UN agencies to foster national discus-sion on implementing quotas for women inpolitics, given a low participation rate of only3.5 percent in Parliament and local towncouncils. The project prepared a study on the legal issues of quotas, trained potentialwomen candidates, and with non-govern-mental organizations (NGOs) carried out apublic awareness campaign on women’s political rights. After the MauritanianGovernment adopted a 20 percent quota forelectoral ballots in 2005, the 2006 electionsbrought about a transformation: 30 percent of elected local officials and 17 percent ofparliamentarians are now women.

UNDP strongly advocates the need forstatistical systems to disaggregate data bygender. Development policies can affect menand women differently, with women oftencoming out on the short end due to discrimi-nation. Without data disaggregated by gen-der, these differences cannot be recognized

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People in Guyanaturned out for a

2006 poll that wasthe first in memory

without violence.For several years

in advance, UNDPconvened different

groups to encourageconsensus and

transparency.

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or addressed. In Tunisia, UNDP has workedwith national policy makers to develop specific indicators for measuring the impactof public policies on gender equality; thesehave been adopted by the Prime Minister’sOffice; the Ministry of Women, Family,Children and Elders; and the NationalCouncil for Statistics. In Cambodia, newindicators used by donors and the Govern-ment guide policies related to domestic violence, girls’ education and maternal andchild mortality. Much of UNDP’s work on governance indicators has been supportedby its Oslo Governance Centre, which partners with leading thinkers from topresearch and policy institutions from aroundthe world.

UNDP supports one in four parliamentsglobally. Parliamentarians can be powerfulagents of change, particularly during andafter times of crisis. Whether they are asking the tough questions, overseeing howresources are spent, or ensuring a newly-elected government lives up to its promises,they are key to making democratic gover-nance deliver. For instance, the training andtechnical analysis UNDP has provided to the Parliament of Benin is helping improveoversight of the executive branch, ensure on-time budget approvals and speed the passage of legislation.

Training for women parliamentarians inthe United Arab Emirates has increased theircapacity to lobby and frame legislation, and

led to specific policies benefiting women,including provisions for increased paid mater-nity leave, the introduction of paternity leaveand compulsory nurseries within federalbuildings. In Sri Lanka, where Parliamenthas only 13 women out of 225 members,UNDP first backed the formation of a

A pivotal point for democracyIn strengthening the capacities of national parliaments to be representative and accountable, UNDP supports countries progresson a range of other issues.

Gender equalityand minority rights:

Promoted throughlaws and positive

action for candidates

Improved oversight:

Regular review of public policies and

administration

Achievement of the MDGs:

Through pro-poor legislation and

budgeting

Better laws:Passed by informedlegislators with civil

society input

Transparent budgetallocations:

Open debate helpsmeet citizens’ needs

Implementation of international

agreements:National

laws conform to international

obligations

Strengthened crisis

management:Democratic dialogue

among competinggroups, oversight

of post-crisis reconstruction

Effective political parties:

Different platformshave a forum for

healthy interaction

A freely elected and democratic parliament:The primary governmentinstitution representingthe will of the people

Long-term assistancehas supported Timor-Leste’s Parliament in expanding itscapacities to enactlegislation andapprove the nationalbudget. Internationalexpert advisorsprovided by UNDPhave aided withorganizationalrestructuring andhelped developmanagement skills.

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women’s caucus, and then in 2006 sent 11members of the caucus on a study tour toSouth Africa, where women have become a powerful political force. The Sri Lankanlegislators learned about methods SouthAfrican women have used to gain politicalinfluence, including positive action quotas.They returned home determined to beginadvocating for new legislation to improvewomen’s participation. Through a collabora-tion with the Ministry of Women’s Empow-erment and Child Development, the caucus isalready supporting steps to improve women’sleadership skills and to raise awareness,including within political parties, of women’spolitical rights.

Healthy democracies require fair and efficient public administrations. Support forpublic sector reform remains another majorcomponent of UNDP’s democratic gover-nance portfolio, spanning civil service reform, policy development, sound statisticalmethods, improved social service delivery andwell-functioning justice systems. In Liberia,for example, UNDP helped shepherd apeaceful election in 2005, following 14 yearsof war, and is now assisting with the rebuild-

ing of its shattered public institutions. WithUNDP support, the Government is revisingthe mandates of its 20 ministries. It isrevamping its civil service regulations, creat-ing a code of conduct for public servants andoverhauling financial management proce-dures. An assessment of local governments,which are often on the frontline of publicsocial service delivery, has produced recom-mendations geared toward defining their rolein Liberia’s recovery and re-development.Already, in each of Liberia’s 15 counties,newly created District Development Com-mittees supported by officials from the UNCountry Team have been trained on skillsrelated to basic social mobilization, conflictidentification and resolution, and projectmanagement. They are now consulting withlocal community members to identify prioritydevelopment projects. Other assistance is aiding the Ministry of Justice in raising theprosecution rates for sexual and gender-basedcrimes, including rape.

An important aspect of UNDP’s work in public sector reform involves capacityassessments, which identify gaps and priori-ties for improvement. In Afghanistan, the

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In 2006, womenparticipated in

Kuwait’s parliamen-tary elections for

the first time. UNDPhelped prepare

women candidatesand voters.

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Government conducted a comprehensivereview of capacities across its ministries,departments and agencies, producing a baseline assessment. UNDP is now support-ing the Afghan Civil Service Commission intraining officials to strengthen core gover-nance functions. Complementary initiativesfocus on developing the capacities of provin-cial and district administrations to improvepublic service delivery.

Governance that is transparent andaccountable helps to ensure that developmentaid is channeled most effectively to thosemost in need. Whether it’s working with governments to stop the mismanagement of funds from natural resources like oil orhelping legislators write effective laws to prevent mismanagement in the first place,UNDP is at the heart of global efforts tofight for transparency.

A 2006 UNDP report on corruptionmeasurement in Latin America, done in partnership with Transparency International,offered more than 100 different tools for 17countries. The report team worked closelywith national partners to map the specifics of corruption patterns in each country anddesign indicators accordingly.

In Serbia, UNDP was able to provide assistance in the drafting and implementationof the Strategy on Public Administration,and in particular the new Civil Service Law,which promotes accountability and trans-parency in recruitment and promotion procedures, and discourages nepotism andcorruption. Moreover, the project provided for the first time an assessment of theProsecutor’s Office and the Anti-CorruptionAgency, with recommendations and a work plan to improve the efficiency of these

UNIFEM: Ending violence against womenAdministered by UNDP, UNIFEM is the UN’s fund for promoting gender equality and women’srights. Its programmes aim to reduce feminized poverty, end violence against women, reverseHIV and AIDS among women and girls, and achieve equality in democratic governance.

The UNIFEM-managed UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women marked its 10thanniversary in 2007. The Trust Fund invests in practical steps to stop the global epidemic ofviolence against women. It brings together 16 UN partners, eight international and regionalorganizations, and a wide range of women’s groups and donors.

Violence against women has traditionally been ignored, even though it affects a large per-centage of women in every society—up to a third on average. Trust Fund grants have helpedfuel an upsurge in activism to address the problem. For example, while only 45 countries hadlaws against domestic violence four years ago, today 89 states have some form of legislativeprovision, including 60 nations with specific domestic violence laws.

Since it began, the Trust Fund has awarded over $13 million to more than 230 initiatives in100 countries. Grants support innovative efforts by women activists, lawyers, researchers andpublic policy makers who stand a good chance of catalysing broader changes. Projects helprevise laws and policies, and then assist in implementation that fully protects women’s rights.Other priorities include improving women’s access to justice, advocating changes in publicattitudes, strengthening social services, and initiating research that brings to light the truedimensions of violence against women.

Trust Fund grantees have worked to prevent human trafficking in the Ukraine, advocated for the improvement of domestic violence complaint centres and shelters in 13 Chineseprovinces, and helped the Government of Laos draft and pass its first domestic violence law.They have put a spotlight on the so-called honour killings of Palestinian women and support-ed female ex-combatants in Rwanda in learning ways to manage trauma. Around the world,projects have trained judges and law enforcement personnel, and linked activists against violence with groups working on poverty, conflict, and HIV and AIDS, given the connectionsbetween all of these issues.

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institutions, which are in the process of being implemented.

One example is in Mauritius, whereUNDP has helped developed a NationalHuman Rights Strategy and translated it into a national action plan. This has helpedincorporate key international human rightsinstruments into domestic law, strengtheningreporting to UN treaty bodies and imple-menting follow-up mechanisms to their rec-ommendations. Moreover, the project allowedthe Ministry of Justice and Human Rights tocoordinate an ambitious consultative processwhich, beyond the immediate output of generating a draft National Human RightsStrategy for Mauritius, opened up a uniquespace of policy dialogue and cooperationamong state and non-state human rightsactors. It also reinforced UNDP’s position asa partnership broker and trusted convener ofcomplex multi-stakeholders processes inareas—democratic governance, and political,social, economic and cultural rights—thathad not been at the centre of its local devel-opment agenda for quite a while.

In all of its activities, UNDP emphasizespartnerships with civil society organizations. InChina, UNDP has partnered with the Euro-pean Union to support the central Govern-

ment’s new emphasis on civil society parti-cipation in the formulation of policies, pro-grammes and laws. The programme includesanalytical work on the contributions of civilsociety to China’s development, local andnational consultations on laws governing thesegroups, pilot projects of innovative registrationprocedures for organizations, and pilot part-nerships between the Government and civilsociety. Training is helping civil society repre-sentatives increase their organizational andcommunications skills. In 2007, UNDP beganassisting several groups in expanding legal aidservices in 15 provinces and strengtheningwomen’s participation in local governance.

UNDP supports a free and informedmedia. Informing voters and monitoring corruption and the abuse of power, a freepress is crucial to make democracy deliver for the poor. In the run-up to elections inpost-conflict countries such as Liberia andSierra Leone, UNDP enhances the know-how of local journalists to help them reportindependently and constructively on thedemocratic process.

One example of UNDP’s work in economic governance is in Ecuador, whereUNDP has collaborated with UNICEF andUNIFEM to sponsor the National Fiscal

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UNDP’scomprehensive

support for securitysector reform inKosovo includesaddressing local

capacity to developand maintain crimedatabases. Womenofficers comprise asignificant number

of the graduatesfrom the training

programme.

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Policy Observatory, which independentlymonitors fiscal policies and trends in publicfinances. Comprising 20 civil society repre-sentatives with diverse political perspectivesand economic expertise, the observatoryemphasizes accountability in the use of publicfunds, and has helped the central Govern-ment make public accounts transparent andavailable for public scrutiny. Regular macro-economic analysis, policy recommendationsand monthly bulletins assessing social spending provide an invaluable resource forthe public sector, trade unions, universities,and political and economic organizations.National newspapers and 30 national radiostations routinely cover observatory reports,which have also been picked up by majorinternational investment banks such as JPMorgan and UBS. Now funded with additional support from the World Bank and the German Technical Cooperation(GTZ), the observatory has most recentlybeen involved in assessing fiscal policies for poverty reduction. A report on the issue wasdistributed to all candidates and political parties involved in the 2006 elections. It hassince become the basis for ongoing debatesamong political organizations, civil societygroups, the media and private sector interestsabout the protection of social investmentsand the need for fiscal discipline.

UNDP’s democratic governance work inindividual countries both contributes to andbenefits from UNDP knowledge networks.In 2006, in partnership with six leadingproviders of electoral assistance, UNDPlaunched the ACE Electoral KnowledgeNetwork (www.aceproject.org). A comparativedata service covers 11 aspects of elections and180 countries, while an electoral advice optionfields questions on subjects from photographson ballot papers to compulsory voting.

A new network, iKnow Politics(www.iknowpolitics.org), debuted in 2007,becoming the first virtual network linkingwomen in politics throughout the world.Designed by women in politics, the networkfeatures an online library and a virtual forumwhere women can exchange ideas and adviceabout strengthening women’s political participation. It stems from a partnershipbetween UNDP, UNIFEM and three otherinternational organizations closely involvedwith democratic governance. ■

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In 2007, iKnowPolitics became thefirst virtual globalnetwork linkingwomen in politics.

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The risk of suffering from crisis,whether though violent conflict ornatural disaster, is not equally shared.Economic and political disparities, as

well as other forms of exclusion based onfactors such as gender, often determine whois most vulnerable. They dictate who is likelyto survive and who has the best chance ofrecovery when a crisis occurs. UNDP helpscountries manage the risks of crisis, reduceroot inequities that contribute to them, andre-establish basic economic and governancefunctions in the aftermath.

Of the 118 conflicts in 80 locations since1989, most have been internal conflicts inpoor countries. About half of these haveresumed in the first five years after thesigning of peace accords. In terms of naturalcatastrophes, since 1975 the number has shot up from under 100 per year to 395 in2006. Climate change is likely to drive thesefigures higher. The 10 nations hardest hit bynatural disasters in 2006, in the number ofpeople killed or otherwise affected, were alldeveloping countries.

Crisis imposes extra burdens whencountries are poorly equipped to deal with it. Forty percent of the least developedcountries struggle to address the needs ofinternally displaced people, for example.Many will remain shut out from education,productive employment and constructivepolitical engagement, for years. When crisispersists, economies shrink, political systemsweaken and public trust disappears. Valuableresources drain away.

UNDP: Platforms for development

Within the UN system, crisis-related interven-tions range from peacekeeping missions to thecare of refugees. UNDP plays a specific role incoordinating the UN’s risk reduction initiativesand early recovery efforts, contributing in particular its expertise in poverty reductionand democratic governance.

Before full-scale crises erupt, UNDP workswith national and international partners toexpand knowledge and capacities for risk management. Greater understanding of theunderlying causes of crisis helps in craftingmore targeted risk reduction and developmentpolicies. Enhanced negotiation and consensus-building skills can make political systems moreinclusive and responsive to a variety of publicconcerns—and thus more legitimate in theeyes of a cross-section of people.

When a crisis does strike, restoring basicgovernance functions is essential to supplyingthe basic services people need to return to normalcy, from policing to health care.UNDP bolsters steps to improve livelihoodsand restore security. Helping to repair dam-aged social relationships fosters the socialcohesion needed to rebuild and, in the case ofconflict, sustain peace. Post-crisis situationsalso offer important opportunities to increasewomen’s participation in building stable andfully democratic societies. Across all aspects of crisis prevention and recovery, UNDP’sEight-Point Agenda for Women’s Empower-ment and Gender Equality includes steps toempower women.

UNDP contributes to consolidating peace,and putting countries back on the path todevelopment, in all of the major post-conflictsituations in the world today. After conflictexploded in Lebanon in mid-2006, theGovernment turned to UNDP to bolster thecapacities of the Cabinet-level High ReliefCommittee, and to help the Prime Minister’sOffice immediately create a data managementsystem and a daily situation report to guide theresponse to the crisis. UNDP policy advisersassisted the Government in shaping an Early Recovery Plan, which attracted morethan $900 million at a donor conference inStockholm held two weeks after the end ofhostilities. Other input went into a medium-term reform package with a strong focus on

Crisis Preventionand Recovery:Managing threats,returning to stability

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social equity and inclusion and framed by the MDGs. This effort was aligned with thedrafting of Lebanon’s request for internationalaid, which helped net $7.6 billion. UNDPnow serves as the administrator of the UNDevelopment Group Multi-Donor Trust Fundcreated to channel donor contributions, andhas assisted the Prime Minister’s Office todevise a Development Aid Database to man-age new resources.

UNDP’s early recovery initiatives inLebanon included procuring and deliveringlocal relief supplies, in partnership withnational civil society groups. Funds were dis-bursed for clearing rubble, rehabilitating basicinfrastructure and reactivating the services ofover 200 municipalities. After the bombing of the Jiyeh Power Plant spilled thousands of tons of oil along the coastline, UNDPworked with the Ministry of Environment toassess the damage and lead a comprehensive clean-up operation. It also helped thousands offishermen replace damaged nets and rebuildtheir fish markets, staples of their livelihoods.

Countries that have suffered from years ofconflict face special challenges. On top of thedestruction of infrastructure and sometimesdramatic backtracking on human develop-ment, many struggle with limited resourcesand minimal capacities to begin moving forward. Development is particularly critical in these situations, however, because whenpeople do not see improvements in their lives,the chance of a return to chaos is high. In2006, UNDP was active in the 10 states ofSouth Sudan, providing assistance to help re-establish the rudimentary elements of public administration and the rule of law.State and local governments lacked even basicskills to plan and effectively manage resourcesoffered by international and national sources.In nine states, UNDP trained state and localadministrators and NGOs on how to identifydevelopment priorities and devise plans towork on them. A Governors Forum has beencreated and has become the main platform fordialogue between the states and the centralGovernment of South Sudan. Other forms of training have honed the skills of judges,lawyers and the police, and judicial officials in six southern states now gather in UNDP-assisted forums to strategize on key law andorder issues. Across Sudan, UNDP managesthe country’s largest community recovery

initiative. Funded by the European Commis-sion, it involves the coordination of 48 NGOsand serves 800,000 Sudanese. The projectrestores a sense of normalcy and hope throughthe provision of water points, healthcare units,schools, sanitation systems and livelihoodopportunities. In Darfur, UNDP has helpedestablish seven legal aid centres, where para-legals raise awareness on the rule of law andhuman rights, and provide pro bono legal aidand mediation services, including by reachingout to poor and internally displaced persons.The legal aid centres refer the most seriousissues to Darfurian lawyers, who have taken onhundreds of cases.

Economic recovery is particularly importantto post-conflict stability. In Afghanistan,UNDP has delivered close to $1 billion ofassistance since the 2001 Bonn Agreement.Much of this has gone into helping set up theAfghan Interim Authority, resuscitate thenational civil service, conduct three electionsand establish the National Assembly. A num-ber of current programmes focus on supportfor sustainable economic development, withsignificant contributions from the Govern-ment of Japan. One collaborative venture withthe Ministry of Urban Development, theMinistry of Agriculture and local authoritiesbuilds on the joint strengths of UNDP, FAOand the UN Mine Action Centre for Afghani-stan. Linking rural and urban development inthree provinces, the project is improving urbaninfrastructure, rehabilitating roads and repair-ing irrigation systems, often by employingpeople from economically vulnerable groupssuch as ex-combatants and women. By early

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In the immediateaftermath ofLebanon’s 2006crisis, UNDP steppedforward to help the Ministry ofEnvironment cleanup a massive coastal oil spillcaused by bombing.

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2007, 91,000 days of labour had been logged.Over 2,000 farmers were using new seeds,equipment and livestock to increase agricultur-al production. The project had established 650nurseries for fruit trees and 600 greenhouses.Mine removal, done through trained AfghanNGOs, had freed land for cultivation andimproved access to markets.

While the situation in Iraq remains com-plex, UNDP continues to back developmentefforts throughout much of the country.To coordinate the efforts of UN agenciesinvolved in reconstruction, it administers the$1 billion UN Development Group Iraq TrustFund. UNDP also plays a leading role in assistance for governance and poverty reduc-tion. It helped the Ministry of Planning andDevelopment Cooperation establish an AidCoordination Unit and a donor assistancedatabase currently recording $15 billion worthof grants, the largest such database in theworld. Training has provided the Ministry ofMunicipalities and Public Works with modernmanagement skills, and local governmentswith the capacity to plan and provide services.To fill gaps in public sector institutions,collaboration with the International Organiza-tion for Migration has brought qualified Iraqiexpatriates back on short- and long-termassignments. UNDP is helping the Ministry of Municipalities and Public Works to rehabilitate key water and sanitation facilities,including a water treatment plant that serves amillion Baghdad residents. Partnerships with

donors and the Ministry of Electricity arerevamping major power stations and electricaldistribution networks, and helping to strength-en related institutions. The Iraq Reconstruc-tion and Employment Programme providedshort-term jobs to some 123,000 workersemployed in small-scale projects to offer basicservices, reclaim agricultural land and clean uppublic spaces in towns and villages.

A crisis, even with a hugely disruptiveimpact, can open space for introducing newways to work. Because UNDP is involved atthe earliest stages, it can help countries graspthese opportunities. In Sri Lanka, UNDP’sStrong Places and Aid Watch initiatives started as a response to the 2004 tsunami, buthave become models for participatory andaccountable local development planning.Together, the two projects cover 13 districtsand 1,100 villages. They have helped enlargethe capacities of local communities to ensurethat humanitarian support responds to localpriorities. Community members have learnedbasic strategies for monitoring the activities of humanitarian groups in their localities andnegotiating with government agencies to fulfill unmet needs, including through meetingwith representatives of the national HumanRights Commission and the Task Force forRebuilding the Nation after the Tsunami.Small grants have helped strengthen localrecovery initiatives by community groups,while community resource centres provideservices such as job training and health

High Proportional Economic Loss RiskTop three deciles at risk from:

Drought only

Geophysical only

Hydro only

Drought and hydro

Geophysical and hydro

Drought and geophysical

Drought, hydro and geophysical

The risks of disastersCountries with large populations or a high percentage of GDP concentrated in areas prone to naturaldisasters may face threats to development from repeated economic and humanitarian losses.

Note: Economic loss risks measured as a proportion of GDP per unit area.Source: Natural Disaster Hotspots: A Global Risk Analysis-Synthesis Report 2005

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education, along with information on basichuman rights and entitlements. The projecthas greatly improved communications chan-nels between communities and their govern-ments, and has resulted in agreement on newlocal development priorities. One example isan emphasis on diversified livelihoods. Beforethe tsunami, many communities were heavilydependent on a single natural resource, only tosee it swept away by the waves.

In Pakistan, UNDP continues helping torestore and improve local government capabili-ties destroyed by the massive 2005 earthquake.In the Northwest Frontier Province, wheresome local government officials have beenoperating out of tents, the project has broughtin prefabricated offices that can be easilyinstalled and used. They come complete withfurniture and a computer. Training is helpinglocal officials develop technology skills, andimprove their capacities to plan and manageongoing recovery efforts. An initiative torecover lost public records has paid particularattention to those related to land use, anessential livelihood asset for rural people.Work with land revenue officials emphasizesthe need to maintain high standards of trans-parency and accountability.

Recent decades have singled out certainregions and countries as particularly prone tonatural disasters. UNDP maintains its active

support for preparedness planning that reducesrisks to lives and long-term damages to devel-opment. After a hurricane and a volcaniceruption hit El Salvador in late 2005, UNDPcoordinated the recovery efforts of nationalpartners, UN agencies and NGOs to deliverimmediate assistance to 14,000 people in 22communities, helping them to rebuild homesand livelihoods. In 2006, UNDP workeddirectly with nine of the most affected munici-palities to create preparedness plans for futuredisasters, including through training 500 vil-lage leaders on how to develop and maintainthe plans. Additional resources and technicalassistance supported the central Governmentin establishing a monitoring and alert system.

The Maldives, despite its vulnerability toflooding, had never faced a disaster on thescale of the 2004 tsunami, which caused massive destruction on many of the country’sislands. There was little capacity to predict orrespond to this catastrophe. UNDP assistedwith reconstruction efforts, but almost fromthe start has also helped the Maldives put inplace a comprehensive system for disaster riskmanagement. By 2007, a National DisasterManagement Act had been drafted, a steptowards establishing a national disaster man-agement authority. UNDP had helped preparethe first geographic profile of risks on differentislands, and was assisting with the installation

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The Maldives, hithard by the tsunami,is using UNDPassistance to“build back better,”including throughcomprehensivecommunity disasterpreparednessplanning. Residentsof Felidhoo Islandhave decided toconstruct theirhouses higher off the ground.

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of a sophisticated early warning system.One national and five regional emergencyoperations centres were operating, while 13islands had developed community disastermanagement plans incorporating local threatsand priorities.

Indonesia has also suffered greatly fromnatural disasters in recent years. They havekilled nearly 180,000 Indonesians since theend of 2004, with accompanying economiclosses of more than $14 billion. UNDP haspartnered with the National DevelopmentPlanning Agency and the National Coordi-nation Body for Disaster Management to create the National Action Plan for Disaster Risk Reduction. For the first time,the Government has shifted its disaster

management orientation from responding afterthe fact to endorsing preventative measures.The new plan is designed to coordinate disas-ter management actions and improve the useof resources. To implement it, the legislaturepassed a bill in 2007 to form a NationalDisaster Management Agency. Through closecooperation with other UN agencies andNGOs, UNDP has also worked with localcommunities in some of the most disasterprone areas of Indonesia to enact early warning systems, devise evacuation plans, and conduct simulated earthquake and tsunamiexercises. People will always be vulnerable tocrisis, but as Indonesia has recognized, anequitable approach to social policy impliesthey also have the right to be prepared. ■

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UN Volunteers: Civic engagement in action The United Nations Volunteer (UNV) programme promotes civic engagement through volun-teerism around the world. It serves as a valuable and unique part of the UNDP global develop-ment network, as well as a strategic resource supporting development work across the UN system.

In 2006, the programme worked with 23 UN partners in 144 countries and engaged more than7,500 skilled professionals as volunteers. UNV’s activities in financial terms reached a record high of$180 million. More than two-thirds of the volunteers came from developing countries, with around40 percent serving within their own countries. An additional 2,100 volunteers signed up throughUNV’s rapidly expanding Online Volunteering programme, which helps more than 900 registereddevelopment organizations obtain expertise and support online.

In advocating volunteerism for development, UNV works on the conviction that voluntary actionby millions of people is a potentially powerful but vastly under-used resource.Voluntary action is aprincipal manifestation of trust and solidarity within and among communities that can move dis-advantaged people towards active involvement in their own development. In 2006, UNV support-ed a number of initiatives offering new opportunities to marginalized groups, including women,youth and the poor. Building on long standing local traditions of volunteerism in Burkina Faso,Ethiopia and Niger, for example, UNV and its partners encouraged youth to contribute to localdevelopment efforts related to achieving the MDGs.

Other UNV efforts in 2006 focused on working within local communities to develop MDG strate-gies. In Mali, Pakistan, Senegal and Uganda, the programme supported the creation of national volunteer schemes.

Through UNV, a global exchange of volunteers helps foster the exchange of knowledge and experiences. In 2006, over 2,600 UNV volunteers played crucial roles supporting 15 UN peace operations and a number of post-conflict elections. For the elections in the Democratic Republic ofthe Congo, UNV mobilized 800 volunteers from 91 nationalities in support of the elections andpeacekeeping, providing administrative and financial support and civic and electoral education.Half of the volunteers came from neighbouring countries and many contributed local and region-al African expertise, which built confidence among local voters eager, yet hesitant to participate inthe democratic process after many years of civil strife.

Through its advocacy of volunteerism for development, the integration of volunteerism into development planning, and the mobilization of volunteers nationally and internationally, UNV ispursuing distinctive contributions to effective development.

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U N D P 2 0 0 7 A N N U A L R E P O R T 33

The poor are disproportionately affectedby environmental degradation and lackof access to clean, affordable energyservices. The UN is at the forefront of

efforts to advance the environmental agenda indevelopment, recognizing that issues such asclimate change, loss of biodiversity and ozonelayer depletion cannot be addressed by coun-tries acting alone.

Environmental degradation and scarceresources both push people into poverty andkeep them there, reinforcing inequities. Today,soil erosion, floods, droughts and pollutionthreatens the livelihoods of 2.6 billion people.Over a billion people today don’t have cleanwater. Each year, sub-Saharan Africa loses morein productivity through poor water manage-ment than it gains through development aidand debt relief: a staggering $30 billion.

Looking ahead it is clear that climatechange will have especially dramatic effects onpoor countries, both because of geography andbecause low income makes adaptation moredifficult. Geography renders many developingcountries vulnerable to climate change. Locatedin tropical areas or on small islands, they areexposed to climate extremes, large variabilityin rainfall, rises in sea level, and high tempera-tures. Since many developing countries rely onagriculture as their main source of subsistence,they have limited flexibility to switch to lessclimate-sensitive activities such as manufac-turing and services. For some countries—inAfrica and the Caribbean, and on coasts inSouth Asia and Southeast Asia—these threatsare not looming in the distant future but in thenext few decades.

UNDP: Integrated policies

UNDP manages the UN system’s largest portfolio of operational environment and energy projects, increasingly in collaborationwith UNEP’s technical expertise and advocacy efforts. It brings its expertise inpoverty reduction and governance to bear in helping countries design and manage public policies that make the stewardship of environmental resources an integral part of human development.

One major challenge for developing countries is integrating environmental issuesinto national and local development plans.UNDP supports national partners assess newpolicy options, broaden institutional capaci-ties, expand energy and other services toreach excluded groups, and marshal financialresources. Assistance also goes towardspreparing for potential risks from climatechange. On the local level, UNDP aids communities in determining how to extendenergy services and better manage environ-mental resources, particularly in connectionwith improved livelihoods.

In assisting countries work on environ-mental policies, UNDP emphasizes tailoring

Environment and Energy:Balancing access and security

A warming Greenland signals climate change

Source: Konrad Steffen and Russell Huff, CIRES, University of Colorado at Boulder, Colorado

1992 Melt Extent 2002 Melt Extent

Melt

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MDG targets and measuring progress towardsthe targets and goals, along with an overall orientation around equity and human development. By 2006, with UNDP support,85 countries had tailored MDG targets on environmental sustainability; over 150 haveassessed and reported on the global targets,including those related to water, sanitation andurban housing. Many countries have wovenenvironmental targets into national develop-ment plans, and a few have incorporated newenvironmental measures into national budgets.Cambodia, for example has set targets of doubling the area of fish sanctuaries and reducing household fuel wood dependency byalmost half. Similar UNDP-assisted effortshave gone into energy policies. Albania hasadopted a target of universal electricity avail-ability through increased power generationfrom renewable energy sources, and reduced transmission and distribution losses.

UNDP expertise has supported theEconomic Community of West AfricanStates, a regional grouping of 15 countries,adopt an ambitious regional energy pro-gramme, with a target of quadrupling modernenergy services in rural and urban areas by2015. Burkina Faso, a Community member,

has used UNDP assistance to prioritize energyin its poverty reduction strategy and nationalbudget. UNDP has also worked with ruralauthorities on providing energy services togenerate growth in local economies.

In China, years of rapid growth have liftedaround 400 million people out of poverty,but have also pressured the environment.Environmental degradation is now contribut-ing to the growing gap between those ridingthe crest of China’s new prosperity and thoseleft behind. UNDP works closely with theGovernment on devising appropriate environ-mental and energy policies that support pov-erty reduction over the long term, as well asimplementing programmes that immediatelyaddress some of the worst disparities.

The Green Poverty Reduction in Chinaproject, for example, helps reduce poverty and provide clean sources of energy in threeprovinces, Yunan, Guizhou and Sichuan.The project is piloting a strategy of providingpoor farmers with agricultural technologies to produce high-yield but environmentallysustainable crops of Jatropha curcas trees, aspecies that normally grows wild and naturallyprevents desertification. There is a growingmarket, domestically and internationally, for

UNDP supportsChina’s plan to

dramaticallyincrease its use ofrenewable energy

systems, such as this wind turbine

in Xinjiang.

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the biofuel that can be made from these trees.To tap this potential, the project simultaneous-ly assists farmers with establishing effectivemarketing mechanisms and supply links tomanufacturers. It is also working with officialson policies to catalyse these initial efforts, suchas subsidies for environmentally sustainablefarming. Green Poverty Reduction in Chinashould come to full fruition in 2009, withexpectations that it will reach 200,000 farmersand produce an annual increase in income ofat least 15 percent for half of those. TheGovernment already plans to use the lessonslearned from this experience to scale it upfrom its current 6,000 acres to nearly 3 millionacres by 2009.

UNDP has also established a partnershipwith Arcelor Mittal, the world’s largest steelcompany, to reduce China’s greenhouse gasemissions. One project supports the develop-ment and enforcement of energy conservationpolicies, and assists Chinese steel, petrochemi-cal and building materials companies in adopt-ing more energy efficient production meth-ods—many of which have been pioneered byArcelor Mittal.

Some cases of resource disparities are bestsolved through methods that encourage publicparticipation in decisions governing their use.This deepens the quality of democracy by bro-kering broader consensus on resource alloca-tions, which also tend to end up more evenlydistributed. In Crimea, an autonomous republic in Ukraine, UNDP has supportedcommunity projects that not only supplywater, but also help reduce tensions amongdifferent ethnic groups. Following the dissolu-tion of the Soviet Union, a quarter millionpeople who had once been deported fromCrimea returned. Disputes have often flaredover scarce natural resources, with equitableaccess to safe water, one of several particularlycontentious issues. Throughout rural Crimea,UNDP has helped convene more than 500ethnically mixed community self-help groupsto begin working with local authorities ondetermining development priorities, calculat-ing costs and implementing projects, thusincreasing the sense of local participation andcooperation. The groups have raised funds toimprove water systems, and by 2006, an extra150,000 people had safe drinking water.Residents now closely supervise the manage-ment of water supply systems and have

established community funds for maintenanceand repair. For 2007, communities and theGovernment raised $4.3 million for new proj-ects, and the Government requested UNDP’ssupport in adjusting legal and institutionalframeworks in order to replicate this servicedelivery model across Crimea.

UNDP drew unprecedented attention tothe global crisis in water and sanitationthrough the publication of its 2006 HumanDevelopment Report, Beyond scarcity: Power,poverty and the global water crisis. Throughexamples from developing countries, the reporttracked how a lack of access to water andinadequate sanitation services translate intoeffects on lives and livelihoods. Greater accessto water and sanitation leads to improvedhealth and education, and supports progresson gender equality. The report recommendedthat all countries should make access to cleanwater a human right, and called for a globalaction plan. Subsequently, various countries

Piped water

Protected well

Unprotected well

Surface water, tanker truck and other

Improved water source Unimproved water source

Mali2001

Peru2000

Benin2001

Egypt2003

Kyrgyzstan1997

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 80 10070 90

Richest20%

Poorest20%

Poorest20%

Poorest20%

Poorest20%

Poorest20%

Richest20%

Richest20%

Richest20%

Richest20%

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 80 10070 90

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 80 10070 90

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 80 10070 90

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 80 10070 90

Source: Human Development Report 2006

The water dividePoorer people consistently have less access to quality waterthan wealthier households.

Access to water by wealth quintile (%)

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intensified their efforts to ensure access toclean water. The United Kingdom officiallyrecognized water as a human right, while theNetherlands committed itself to playing aleading role in making water a human right.Japan plans to host a 47-country summit toaddress water issues in Asia and the Pacific.The theme of the 2007 Human DevelopmentReport is climate change.

The year 2007 marks the 20th anniversaryof the Montreal Protocol on Substances thatDeplete the Ozone Layer. With the support of the Multilateral Fund of the Protocol, theGlobal Environment Facility (GEF) and bilat-eral donors, over the last 15 years UNDP hasleveraged $496 million for providing policyadvice, technical assistance and technologytransfer to help countries reduce the use ofozone-depleting substances. Through a broadrange of partnerships, including small- andmedium-sized enterprises, farmers and health-care practitioners, UNDP has balanced theprotection of the ozone layer with economicconsiderations to maintain local competitive-ness, protect existing jobs and create newforms of employment.

UNDP, along with UNEP and the WorldBank, is one of the three implementing agencies of the GEF, the world’s largest fundfor protecting the environment. In 2006, theGEF received its fourth replenishment of $3 billion from 32 donor countries. Coveringthe 2006-2010 period, the funds will gotowards projects related to biodiversity,climate change, international waters, landdegradation, persistent organic pollutants and ozone layer depletion.

UNDP-GEF projects help develop nation-al capacities for environmental protection andsustainable development, often linked topoverty reduction and the generation of livelihoods. UNDP-GEF manages five corporate programmes on behalf of the GEFpartnership: the Small Grants Programme,the GEF National Dialogue Initiative, theClimate Change National CommunicationsSupport Programme, the Support Programmefor National Capacity Self-Assessments andthe Country Support Programme for GEFFocal Points.

Large- and medium-sized projects, givenimpetus by GEF seed funding, can attractadditional investments by other partners.In 2006, the GEF Council approved $203

million in grants for UNDP projects. UNDPleveraged an additional $500 million in projectco-financing from governments and otherpartners. For example, a project to promoteenvironmentally friendly ways of cultivatingcoffee combines just under $12 million ofGEF financing with over $70 million mainlyfrom the private sector. Coffee is the world’slargest commodity crop, but traditional, envi-ronmentally sustainable cultivation methodsare quickly being lost. The UNDP-GEF ini-tiative works with coffee companies worldwideand major producers in South and CentralAmerica on pilot activities. It aims to increasethe annual volume of coffee grown with sus-tainable practices, as certified by the RainforestAlliance, a project partner, from 30,000 metrictons to 500,000 metric tons, or 10 percent ofthe total global market. McDonald’s hasalready agreed to sell only certified coffee in itsUK restaurants, with plans to extend thatpractice to all European outlets in 2007. Kraft,one of the world’s largest coffee roasters, hasincreased its purchase of certified coffee fromfive million pounds to 29 million pounds overthe last two years.

The UNDP-managed GEF Small GrantsProgramme has funded more than 8,400projects by non-governmental and communi-ty organizations around the world. The proj-ects benefit the environment, enhance locallivelihoods and produce social benefits. In thebooming industrial city of Pune, India, a localNGO used a $15,000 GEF grant to organizethe Pune Traffic and Transportation Forumand advocate for better management of traffic-clogged streets. In partnership withthe city administration, the group cited experiences from Singapore, Bogota, Londaand Curitiba to persuade city officials thatbetter transport planning could increase traffic flow, improve road safety, reduce pollu-tion, and increase the mobility of the poorand disadvantaged. As a result, the 2006municipal budget contains provisions for amulti-million dollar express bus system, anupgraded bicycle network and the creation of footpaths on all public roads. The Puneproject is a classic example of how a smallamount of seed funding, properly placed,can make a big impact. UNDP’s access toknowledge and expertise from across develop-ing and developed countries helps peoplegrasp opportunities like these. ■

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National and international develop-ment partners have entrusted UNDPwith sharply increased resources inrecent years. UNDP now spends over

$5 billion a year on its own programmes andoperations, and manages an additional billioneach year for coordinated UN system activi-ties. To continually earn the trust and confi-dence that this implies, UNDP refines itsdevelopment interventions through rigorousanalysis, shared knowledge and consultationwith partners. A strong operational backbone,oriented around results-based planning andemploying international management stan-dards, helps maximize development effective-ness. Since 2003, total expenditures in nomi-nal terms have increased by 60 percent, whilemanagement costs have been contained to a25 percent rise. The organization is commit-ted to maintaining its gains in efficiency andcost-effectiveness.

For the past five years, UNDP has takenmany steps to fine-tune a business model that emphasizes partnership, advocacy,shared knowledge and capacity development.The organization is the leading UN advocatefor the MDGs and a provider of support tocountries in accomplishing them, includingthrough its knowledge networks. UNDP not only works in close concert with its own partners—from UN agencies to nationalinstitutions to the private sector—but alsoactively brokers partnerships among thosewith a collective interest in inclusive human development.

There is now greater UN coordination and more targeted services. In 2007, through

drafting its 2008-2011 Strategic Plan and the discussions of its Executive Board,UNDP continued in this direction, whileembarking on a clearer alignment of its programmes and operations with the organi-zation’s two overarching roles: as coordinatorof UN development activities and as theprovider of direct development assistance inthe major UNDP programme areas. The twocore roles provide the framework for theStrategic Plan. Anchored in the principles of the Millennium Declaration, the planresponds to key challenges at the heart of development: achieving the MDGs,scaling up crisis prevention and recovery,developing national capacities and institu-tions that govern long-term progress ondevelopment, and targeting quality interven-tions that multiply results far beyond theoriginal investments.

To tackle these challenges, particularly toreduce significant development disparities,the Strategic Plan envisions a UNDP that,in all its activities, helps optimize the development effectiveness of the UN system.UNDP can do this by leveraging its consider-able experiences and assets behind UN coor-dination, and by continuing to contributedevelopment services in areas of strong in-house expertise not already supported byother UN agencies.

Common systemsIn 2006 and 2007, even as the preparation of the Strategic Plan began, UNDP kickedoff a series of initiatives to strengthen its

Operating as an Effective and Accountable Development Partner

U N D P A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 0 7 37

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5

coordination role and improve its internalmanagement. One important step involved a reconfiguration of management structuresat the global and national levels. A clearerdivision of responsibilities between theUNDP Administrator and the AssociateAdministrator means that the former focuseson strategic policy guidance and overallcoordination of development in the UN system, including by chairing the UN Devel-opment Group. The Associate Administratoroversees the daily operations and manage-ment of UNDP programmes.

Reflecting this structure, within countriesthe lines of responsibility between the UNResident Coordinator and UNDP have been further clarified. This ensures that while the UN Resident Coordinator systemremains funded and managed by UNDP,it is dedicated to the impartial coordinationof country teams of UN agencies and topromoting synergies in UN operations.UNDP country offices work as part of theteams, contributing programmes that draw onUNDP expertise, support national prioritiesand fit within the overall framework of theUN development plan in a given country.

To strengthen the position of ResidentCoordinators as joint UN entities, candidatesare now appointed through an inter-agencyprocess and assessed. In 2006, the UNDevelopment Group conducted a 20-countrypilot of a two-way system of performance

evaluation between the coordinators and themanagers of individual agencies. The systemassesses factors such as communicationsskills, team leadership and team commitment,and has now been expanded to 100 countries.In 2007, in addition to induction trainingmeant to cultivate a common understandingof the Resident Coordinator system,Resident Coordinators began participating in in-service briefings on emerging globaltrends. These provide an opportunity to share knowledge and draw connections tonational issues. Since the UN is essentiallycreating a new model for its operations, othertraining focuses on accountability, leadershipand assessment.

A priority for the UN DevelopmentGroup agencies has been to articulate acommon strategy for capacity developmentthat supports national development plans.In 2006, the group agreed on joint guidancefor UN country teams that will help nationalpartners assess capacity strengths and weak-nesses, and map out how the UN can help fill the gaps.

A second agreement harmonized thetransfer of funds from the core UN Devel-opment Group agencies to national recipi-ents, a process that had previously beenfraught with many different and complexrequirements. This simplifies procedures for national partners, and puts in placesystems for assessing and managing risk.The UN Development Group also agreed in 2006 on principles for a harmonized costrecovery rate for joint programmes andmulti-donor trust funds, a step towardsstreamlining implementation.

Managing for resultsWithin its own house, UNDP has developedan organizational culture oriented aroundproducing results, as has been widelyrecognized by national partners, donors andother international institutions. The StrategicPlan builds upon this achievement whilemaking a substantial advancement in acritical area: better measurement andevaluation of results. The plan proactivelylinks programme activities with a set ofstrategic outcomes that reflect the core ofUNDP’s development support. Countryoffices will use these outcomes to align

O P E R AT I N G A S A N E F F E C T I V E A N D A C C O U N TA B L E D E V E L O P M E N T PA R T N E R38

A clearer division of responsibilities

between UNDPAdministrator

Kemal Dervis (left)and AssociateAdministrator

Ad Melkert (right)supports UNDP’s

coordination andoperational roles.

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their programmes with the Strategic Plan,while having some flexibility based on national circumstances.

Through the focused and accessibleproduction of performance data based on the strategic outcomes, the plan will helpcapture immediate outcomes so that alldevelopment partners can scrutinize thequality of UNDP’s contributions. At thesame time, through a central emphasis oncapacity development, the plan recognizesthat the growth in capacities, although attimes harder to pin down, will sustain theseoutcomes and continue producing others over the long term.

In the Strategic Plan and elsewhere in its operations, UNDP has made a strongcommitment to increased accountability and transparency, essential elements for theresponsible stewardship of its resources.As a decentralized organization embracing an array of cultures, with current operationsin 166 countries and staff from 152 nations and territories, UNDP faces unique manage-ment challenges. Some of these relate toperformance expectations, so in 2006 theorganization began putting in place a newmanagement accountability framework. Itdraws tighter links between planned resultsand the responsibility of individual managersfor delivering on them. A revised legalframework covers non-compliance withethical and professional standards. To uncoverany potential conflicts of interest, senior staff,and those in procurement and investmentfunctions are now required to file financialdisclosure statements. An internal onlineExecutive Snapshot platform presentscomprehensive and instantly availableinformation on any UNDP office in theworld, including data on expenditures,programme delivery rates and staffing.

Additional resources have gone intointernal audit and investigative functions.Internal audit reporting now includes new elements to improve the analysis andmonitoring of significant and recurringissues, while a quality assurance unit atheadquarters analyses systemic concernsrising from audit recommendations.Web-based dashboards track follow up,ensuring that responsible managers andoffices or units take action. UNDP is nowdeveloping an Enterprise Risk Management

system, which consolidates existing riskmanagement policies and procedures into one systematic framework for monitoring and managing risks. The initiative will also respond to recommendations fromUNDP partners and audits, and willpositively affect how the organizationoperates, makes decisions and proactivelymanages its activities.

Other developments during the yearincluded the introduction of a risk-basedsystem for planning internal audits. A risk-based methodology to assess complaintsresulted in more timely and effectiveresponses to cases requiring full investigation,and a doubling in the number of cases closed within the year. The strengthening of regional audit offices based in Bratislava

and Beirut is allowing a more thorough andtailored response to country offices in eachregion. Globally, UNDP is moving with the rest of the UN system towards imple-menting the International Public SectorAccounting Standards.

Evaluation has now been built into allaspects of UNDP’s programming, and isconducted in accordance with a new corpor-ate evaluation policy approved in 2006.A total of 231 evaluations were carried outthat year. Baseline criteria assess performancerelated to advancing human development and human rights, supporting UN system

U N D P A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 0 7 39

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

5,000

4,000

3,000

2,000

1,000

02003 2004 2005 2006

US$ m

illion

s

Total UNDP expenditure (nominal)

Management ratio

Containing costsUNDP management expenditures have fallen as a percentage of overall expenditures, freeingadditional funds for programmes.

Source: Bureau of Management/UNDP

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coordination, engaging in global partnerships,encouraging national ownership and manag-ing for results. The organization’s onlineinformation management system, the Eval-uation Resource Centre, was revamped toprovide timely access to data on evaluationplanning, management response and followup, with reports from 2002 onwards.

New operational efficiencies have beenintroduced through a centralized procure-ment system. Atlas, UNDP’s resourcemanagement platform, now permits theinstantaneous collection of data on allprocurement services globally. Substantialcost savings have come from streamliningUNDP’s payroll process so that all staff arepaid on the same schedule. Staff from UNVolunteers were integrated into Atlas for thefirst time, paving the way for the integrated

human resources management of all stafffrom UNDP and its affiliated funds.

A particular priority at UNDP has beenimproving the organizational track record on gender balance, both internally and inexternal programmes. Steady progress wasmade in 2006 on appointing more women to senior posts; they now comprise a third of Resident Representatives, the leaders ofUNDP country offices, up from a quartertwo years ago. Five of the nine managers in the second highest tier of the organi-zation’s global administration are women.A gender committee reports to the UNDPAdministrator on gender issues across the organization, and the staff capacity of the global gender programming unit hasincreased. A next step will be expanding theAtlas system to precisely identify the whole

O P E R AT I N G A S A N E F F E C T I V E A N D A C C O U N TA B L E D E V E L O P M E N T PA R T N E R40

Retooling offices for maximum performance For several years, UNDP’s country offices have gone through several iterations of re-engineering their business processes, aiming for greater flexibility, quicker responses topartners, and above all, high-impact performance. These change management exercises have comprehensively assessed all aspects of an office, from managerial practices to thealignment of programmes and staff competencies. They are now beginning to pay off.

A particular management challenge for UNDP offices in post-conflict and transition countriesinvolves scaling up capacities quickly enough to manage large shifts in resources. These often flow in after a peace agreement or to support initial steps to consolidate peace, such as elections.

In 2006, the UNDP office in the Democratic Republic of the Congo helped lead the UN’slargest ever elections project, seen as key to stabilizing not only that country, but the westand central African region. Only four years ago, the office managed a budget of $8 million. By2006, the figure had shot up to $241 million. Well-organized management structures allowedthe office to keep up. Efficiencies in managing programmes and funds meant a doubling inthe ratio of programme expenditures over available income. At the same time, programmeexpenditures per staff post rose steadily, from $1.85 million in 2005 to $2.5 million in 2006.The bottom line: the office was able to do more programming with a lower ratio of staff andreduced operational costs.

A change management process in the office began in 2002 and continued into 2005 as the office began gearing up for the elections. It looked at the office culture, promoting a shift towards innovation and strategic thinking, along with a major emphasis on sharingknowledge and collaboration. Staff expertise and business processes were closely alignedwith evolving programme requirements linked to overarching national objectives. New sub-offices in different regions decentralized operations, bringing them close to the people who most directly benefit, while maintaining overall programme coherence.A pro-business approach encouraged cost-effective private sector partnerships for goods and services. With the election a success, the emphasis within the country and UNDP willshift again towards other post-conflict priorities, such as developing the capacities of the new government. In making itself more nimble and adaptable, UNDP will be prepared for the challenges ahead.

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range of UNDP’s investments in women’sdevelopment and rights.

Within the UN system, UNDP is uniquein conducting annual global surveys of itsstaff, a practice that began in 1999. Over theyears, participation has soared, and markshave significantly and steadily improved onissues such as the performance of manage-ment, staff morale and the resolution ofgrievances. In 2007, UNDP began summari-zing the survey and making it available to the public through the UNDP website.

UNDP continually invests in the profes-sionalism of its staff—71 percent nowparticipate in UNDP’s global knowledgenetworks, online communities that facilitatecollaboration and the exchange of infor-mation on subjects narrow and broad, fromparticular details of how to implement UN reform initiatives to the MDGs.Eighty percent have said the networks benefit their professional development andthe productivity of their office. Over 2,000

UNDP staff members have been certified inproject management, procurement, humanresources and finance.

In 2007, after a global search, UNDPchose suppliers for training and certificationassessments related to project managementand business process design. These serviceswill be available to most UNDP offices,helping to standardize and boost theeffectiveness of its staff training, as well as tosome counterpart government institutions.UNDP also began an initiative to identifyhighly experienced staff who could be quickly deployed in the immediate aftermathof crises, ensuring the organization canmaximize its response and have the rightpeople in place in situations where they areneeded most. ■

U N D P A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 0 7 41

UNDP has greatlyexpanded its stafftraining, including by using cutting-edge technology.Managers participa-ted in a discussion to extend UNDP'sVirtual DevelopmentAcademy's onlinecourses to civilservants in develop-ing countries

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Contributions to the organization’sregular (core) resources grew for the sixth consecutive year, albeit atslower pace. The $922 million gross

regular income received by UNDP in 2006represents a modest increase over 2005,but clearly falls short of the interim target ($1 billion) set by the Multi-Year FundingFramework (MYFF 2004-2007) for the year.The achievement of the overall MYFFfunding target—$1.1 billion in 2007—willrequire continued and enhanced support

during the final year of the current cycle. It isencouraging that a growing number of donorgovernments have adhered to multi-yearfunding commitments, thus helping toincrease the predictability of UNDP’s regularfunding base.

Expressed in current dollar terms, coreincome has increased by 10 percent between2004 and 2007. Yet when corrected for both inflation and the performance of the US dollar vis-à-vis other currencies, adjustedcore income grew by less than 5 percentduring this period. UNDP’s funding baseremains particularly exposed to exchange rate volatility.

In 2006, combined earmarked (non-core)contributions to UNDP totaled $3.8 billion,remaining at the same level as in 2005.Between 2005 and 2006, resources channeledthrough UNDP by programme countrygovernments in support of their owndevelopment priorities grew from $1.1 billionto $1.36 billion. During the same period,non-core contributions from members of theDevelopment Assistance Committee of theOrganisation for Economic Co-operationand Development decreased slightly from$1.05 billion to $1.03 billion. Contributions

U N D P R E S O U R C E S42

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Source: Division for Resources Mobilization/UNDP

UNDP Resources

Contributions to UNDP, 1997-2006 (preliminary)US$ millions

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Contributions from non-bilateral partners, including multilateral funds

Bilateral donor resources

Local resources

Other sources of funds, including contributions to UNIFEM, UNCDF and UNV

Regular (core) resources

from non-bilateral partners declined from$1.43 billion to $1.2 billion. Notwithstandinga combined net decrease in non-core funding,UNDP continues to be called upon tosupport governments to obtain, direct andmanage different types of funding inaccordance with national priorities.

Earmarked resources represent an impor-tant complement to the regular resource base of UNDP. The ratio of earmarked tonon-earmarked regular resources remainsimbalanced, however. The ability of UNDPto fulfil its mandate and deliver effectivecapacity building support for developmentcritically depends upon a level of corefunding that enables UNDP to pursueflexible, integrated management approachesfocussed on long-term developmenteffectiveness and sustainability. ■

U N D P A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 0 7 43

UNDP support to non-bilateral aid delivery:Top contributors to “other resources”

European Commission

Global Environment Facility

Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

The World Bank

UN System

UNDG Iraq Trust Fund

US$ millions

0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400

Source: Division for Resources Mobilization/UNDP

Gross income received in 2006* (preliminary)Ranked by top contributors to regular resources**

US$ millions

Donors Regular Co-financingresources

The Netherlands 113.8 58.3Sweden 109.0 116.9Norway 108.0 79.2United States 105.2 127.8United Kingdom 91.0 199.7Japan 75.0 154.0Denmark 61.3 19.1Canada 49.6 65.9Switzerland 41.6 15.2Germany 33.6 31.5France 31.1 21.1Spain 28.6*** 32.9Ireland 20.0 11.8Finland 18.7 10.3Belgium 17.9 24.5New Zealand 5.5 5.3Austria 5.3 6.0Australia 5.3 28.9India 5.0 1.0China 3.0 23.3Saudi Arabia 2.0 10.4Portugal 1.8 1.7Luxembourg 1.7 3.9Republic of Korea 1.0 4.7Mexico 1.0 6.5

* As of 25 May 2007** All donors to regular resources contributing $1 million or more *** Includes €15 million for 2006, received in January 2007

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DRC Democratic Republic of the Congo

FAO Food and Agriculture Organization

GDP Gross Domestic Product

GEF Global Environment Facility

ILO International Labour Organization

LDCs Least Developed Countries

MDGs Millennium Development Goals

MYFF Multi-Year Funding Framework

NGOs Non-Governmental Organizations

UNAIDS Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS

UNCDF United Nations Capital Development Fund

UNDG United Nations Development Group

UNDP United Nations Development Programme

UNEP United Nations Environment Programme

UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund

UNIFEM United Nations Development Fund for Women

UNV United Nations Volunteers

WHO World Health Organization

Acronyms

U N D P A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 0 744

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Contents

1 Foreword: Reform, Renewal and Results

2 Inclusive Globalization

6 UNDP and a Reforming UN: Coordinated Support for Development

12 UNDP Programmes: Foundations for Strong and Equitable Societies 13 Poverty reduction: Mapping the road to pro-poor growth and human development20 Democratic Governance: Fostering broad and meaningful participation 28 Crisis Prevention and Recovery: Managing threats, returning to stability33 Environment and Energy: Balancing access and security

37 Operating as an Effective and Accountable Development Partner

42 UNDP Resources

Front cover: In Ghana,women sand wood forgarden furniture that will be exported. Throughtheir livelihoods,they areconnected to the growingglobal economy.

Photograph credits

Cover: Ron Giling/Still Pictures

page 1: UNDP Costa Rica

page 4: Mark Edwards/UNDP

page 9: top – Eskinder Debebe/UN;bottom – Brian Randall/UNDP

page 10: Press Office/Office of the President/Rwanda

page 13: UN Habitat; inset – Eskinder Debebe/UN

page 15: Anna Chilczuk/UNDP

page 16: Bruce Southwick/UNDP

page 21: Cassandra Waldon/UNDP

page 22: Andres Leighton/AP Photo

page 23: Riccardo Gangale/UNDP

page 24: Gustavo Ferrari/AP Photo

page 26: UNDP Kosovo

page 29: Friends of the Earth Europe

page 31: UNDP Maldives

page 34: Stephen Shaver/Bloomberg News

page 38: Andrew Gombert/UNDP

page 41: UNDP

MDG icons, page 11: UNDP Regional Service Centre for Eastern and Southern Africa

Published by the

Office of Communications

United Nations

Development Programme

New York

Writer: Gretchen Sidhu

Designer: Laurie Douglas

Printer: Hoechstetter Printing

Company, USA

Printed by means of

environmentally-compatible

technology on recycled paper.

© UNDP June 2007

United Nations

Development Programme

Office of Communications

One United Nations Plaza

New York, NY 10017, USA

Tel: (212) 906-5300

Fax: (212) 906-5364

United Nations

Development Programme

European Office

Palais des Nations

CH-1211 Genève 10

Switzerland

Tel: (41-22) 917 8542

Fax: (41-22) 917 8001

UNDP Office in Brussels

United Nations Office/UNDP

14 Rue Montoyer

1000 Bruxelles, Belgium

Tel: (32-2) 505 4620

Fax: (32-2) 505 4729

UNDP Nordic Office

Midtermolen 3

PO Box 2530

DK-2100 Copenhagen O

Denmark

Tel: (45-35) 46 71 50

Fax: (45-35) 46 70 95

UNDP Tokyo Office

UN House 8F

Jingumae 5-53-70

Shibuya-ku,Tokyo 150-0001

Japan

Tel: (813) 5467 4751

Fax: (813) 5467 4753

UNDP Liaison Office

Washington, DC

1775 K Street, NW, Suite 420

Washington, DC 20006, USA

Tel: (202) 331 9130

Fax: (202) 331 9363

UNDP Regional Centre

Europe and the Commonwealth

of Independent States

Grosslingova 35

Bratislava 811 09

Slovak Republic

Tel: (421-2) 59337 111

Fax: (421-2) 59337 450

UNDP Regional Centre in Bangkok

United Nations Service Building

3rd Floor, Rajdamnern Nok Avenue

Bangkok 10200, Thailand

Tel: (66) 2288 1234, (66) 2288 2129

Fax: (66) 2288 3032, (66) 2288 0556

UNDP Regional Service

Centre for Eastern and

Southern Africa

7 Naivasha Road Sunninghill

PO Box X4

Johannesburg

South Africa 2157

Tel: (27-11) 603 5000

Fax: (27-11) 258 8511

UNDP Pacific Centre

c/o UNDP

Private Mail Bag

Suva, Fiji

Tel: (679) 330 0399

Fax: (679) 330 1976

UNDP Regional Centre in Colombo

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Colombo 7, Sri Lanka

Tel: (94-11) 4526 400

Fax: (94-11) 4526 410

For further information, contact your local UNDP office or:

1872_CVRC2.qxp 7/25/07 3:36 PM Page 2

United Nations Development ProgrammeOne United Nations PlazaNew York, NY 10017

www.undp.org

Making Globalization Work for AllU N I T E D N A T I O N S D E V E L O P M E N T P R O G R A M M E A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 0 7

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