UNDP in Action introduction

Delivering On Our Commitment to Development making a real difference

W ith activities in more than 160 countries

UNDP is active across the developing
world supporting countries to meet their
This is no time for business as usual
approaches to development. On the contrary, A s the UN’s global development network,
UNDP strives to make a real, concrete
difference in the lives of the people whom it
their request. Finally, UNDP must work to
invest in the capacities of its partner govern-
ments to enable them to meet their poverty
this is a time for translating words and prom-
development goals. ises into action on the ground. This publica- ultimately serves. UNDP in Action 2009/2010: eradication goals.
UNDP’s mandate is to work with countries tion, UNDP in Action, has been produced Delivering on Commitments showcases results. A year later, the world witnessed the first
to reduce poverty, promote democratic gov- to help illustrate how UNDP can contribute All of UNDP’s policy advice, technical support, major effects of a financial meltdown that
ernance, prevent and recover from crises and advocacy and contributions to strengthening began in the developed world but quickly
to that.
protect the environment and combat climate human development are aimed at one end spread to the developing world as well. This
From supporting the empowerment of
change. Throughout, UNDP is striving to help result: real improvements in people’s lives and crisis followed a series of serious commodity
women, developing sustainable livelihoods
in the choices and opportunities available to price shocks and food shortages. In 2009, the
Administrator Helen bring about the transformational change to and conducting elections, to the disarma- them. international community watched in dismay

42%
Clark during a site visit which countries aspire, and to build countries’ ment, demobilization and reintegration of as fragile development gains in many strug-
to a UNDP-supported resilience to overcome whatever challenges former combatants and helping countries gling nations began to reverse. Meanwhile,
HIV and AIDS initiative they might face. adapt to the effects of climate change, UNDP with aid budgets under attack as the global
in Papua New Guinea. Carrying out this mission has never been in Action showcases some of the many devel- recession continues, it is crucial for UNDP
easy. It was made more difficult in the face of opment results UNDP helps bring about. Proportion of UNDP programming budget in 2009 spent to meet to show all its partners how it is optimizing
the economic recession, the lingering effects UNDP will continue to foster strong part- the needs and goals of least developed countries (LDCs). its resources — including financial, human,
of the food and fuel crises and the ongoing nerships for development within and beyond knowledge and experiential — in its contribu-
climate challenge — all of which have placed the UN system. We have an important role to In 2007, under the direction of its tions to human development.
heavy burdens on many of the world’s most play in ensuring that programme countries Executive Board, UNDP adopted its Strategic
vulnerable people and countries. have access to the support they need to meet Plan to help chart the way forward. The plan UNDP in Action
This year is an especially important one stressed the importance of delivering pro- UNDP works within four core focus areas:
their development goals. By keeping a strong
to be advancing the development agenda. It gramming in an effective and accountable poverty reduction and the Millennium
focus on results, and continuously improving
marks a decade since countries adopted the manner with measurable and transformative Development Goals (MDGs); democratic gov-
how we work, I am confident that we can con-
results for the countries and people involved. ernance; crisis prevention and recovery; and
Millennium Declaration, which enshrined the tinue to make a significant difference for the It reaffirmed UNDP’s mandate to work toward environment and sustainable development,
eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) better wherever we work. the eradication of poverty while acting as a as detailed in this report, which complements
as a common commitment to create a better
neutral partner to the countries with whom it the Annual Report of the Administrator on the
tomorrow for billions of people. works. That work, as spelled out by the plan, Strategic Plan to the Executive Board. However,
With just five years left to meet the must continue to align with the national plans much of UNDP’s work in these four areas is
2015 deadline for meeting the MDGs, UNDP and needs of partner countries, and only at cross-cutting. For example, a large portion of
believes that with the right policies, resources
and unwavering leadership the Goals can Helen Clark Selected evaluation lessons and UNDP response: Poverty and the MDGs
be met at the global level. This September UNDP Administrator
the UN hosts a special MDG summit to re- UNDP support is well-aligned with national poverty reduction strategies and
energize and accelerate national and global succeeds in reaching vulnerable groups and the economically disadvantaged.
Areas of strength Valuable contributions that stand out were in the area of national trade policy,
efforts to meet the Goals. UNDP is fully mobi- generating fiscal space, social inclusion and protection, and microcredit, often in
lized to support a strong and action-oriented collaboration with UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF).
outcome from the summit.
The wide range of MDG and poverty-related interventions weakened UNDP’s
focus. Capacity development needs to be incorporated even more, particularly
Areas for improvement to leverage South-South solutions more systematically. A strong emphasis also
needs to be placed on sustained advocacy and political dialogue.

The new Global Programme further focuses on supporting the results contained
in the Strategic Plan. A new robust knowledge management system will be
Response geared to facilitating South-South exchanges that would leverage these
experiences more systematically.

2 undp in action 2009/2010

UNDP’s work in crisis — such as rebuilding high demand for development advice in high-
livelihoods — translates into poverty reduc- impact areas covering: HIV and AIDS; energy,
tion work, as does its work in democratic environment and climate change; crisis pre-
governance. vention and recovery; and achievement of
In 2009, in many of the countries where the MDGs, a set of targets agreed on by world
it operates, UNDP continued to experience a leaders to halve poverty by 2015. These pro-

The Human Development Report: AnalySing Development, Changing Policy

UNDP drew attention to human mobility needs of migrants, such as access to health
with the Human Development Report 2009, care. As policy discussions continue to be
Overcoming Barriers: Human mobility and influenced by the Report, UNDP will continue
development. Administrator Helen Clark to successfully enhance the role of migration
launched the Report on 5 October 2009 in in its work.
Bangkok, Thailand. Considering the many Beyond the global Human Development
issues surrounding migration, the Report Report 2009, UNDP continued to publish a
brought the migration debate to the forefront series of groundbreaking national and re­gion-
­al human development reports in 2009 and

70
of policy discussions around the world with its
main message that migration — both within the first half of 2010. Four regional reports
and between countries — has the potential generated wide media coverage and interest:
to increase people’s freedom and improve the two from Latin America and the Caribbean;
The number of coun- lives of millions. one from Asia and the Pacific; and one from
tries in which the By year’s end, the Report was launched the Arab States arguing that the concept of
Human Development in over 70 countries and downloaded over human security is a useful lens for viewing
Report 2009 was 80,000 times. It received media coverage total- human development in the Arab region.
launched in just ling over 1,000 articles and was distributed For example, in the months following
three months. widely by UNDP Country Offices to key policy the July 2009 launch of the Arab Human
makers, development stakeholders, academ- Development Report 2009: challenges to human
ics and civil society. Well-received at such security in the Arab countries, each of the
high-level events as the Third Global Forum three major cable networks in the Arab region
on Migration and Development, the Report hosted special news programmes to delve
is regarded as a key publication that debunks into the Report’s messages. Over 400 articles
several myths about migration and lays out a have been written around the world on
series of feasible policy recommendations. the Report and within the first six months
Working with other UN agencies, UNDP is of its release it had been downloaded over
leading the implementation of the European 400,000 times.
Commission-UN Joint Migration and Develop­ Additionally, 16 national reports pro-
ment Initiative. This links civil society orga- vided practical policy advice for improving
nizations and local authorities in 16 devel- human development across a wide range of
oping countries with their counterparts in key human development topics, from pub-
the European Union. The aim is to improve lic policy and public services in Chile to the
services for migrants and migration-related importance of quality governance institutions
development policies and programmes. in the Philippines.
Elsewhere, UNDP is working in China UNDP’s Human Development Report series
and India to connect internal migrants with continues to impact the world at the global,
improved access to public services. In the regional, national and local levels, and UNDP
Philippines, UNDP and its partners are help- looks forward to the 20th anniversary of the
ing to integrate gender-sensitive HIV and global Human Development Report in 2010.
AIDS-prevention messages into pre-departure
seminars and programmes for migrant work-
ers. In Albania and Senegal, UNDP has helped
to mobilize diasporas to address priority

3 introduction: making a real difference

 Haiti: The Long Road Ahead

The 12 January 2010 earthquake affected one By the end of March, the programme had cre-
third of Haiti’s 9 million citizens, destroyed ated an estimated 75,000 labour-intensive
much of its capital and surrounding towns emergency jobs in support of humanitar-
and villages and devastated the fragile devel- ian operations. Workers, 44 percent of them
opment gains the country and its people had women, cleared rubble, collected waste,

44%
made in recent years. Official figures estimate cleaned out canals and cleared roads, laying
that more than 200,000 people died and over the foundation for mid-term recovery and
300,000 were injured. Almost all government development.
buildings were completely or partly destroyed
Proportion of cash- and some 40 percent of senior government Other UNDP Activities in Haiti
for-work recipients officials died in the earthquake or left the Haiti faces enormous challenges in terms of
who were women country in its wake. the rule of law. A system that was dysfunctional
as of March 2010. At the same time, the UN lost 101 of its before the earthquake is now under enormous
own staff in what was the single greatest loss pressure to deliver. Functional rule-of-law insti-
in the history of the Organization. UNDP suf- tutions are a prerequisite for sustained security
fered the destruction of its Port-au-Prince and economic recovery. UNDP, in collaboration
headquarters and experienced serious set- with other parts of the UN, has been working
backs in many of its ongoing development closely with the Ministry of Justice and Public
programmes in Haiti. Security to design and implement a recovery
Nevertheless, due to the resilience and plan for the rule-of-law sector. UNDP provided
courage of the Haitian people, Haiti is once equipment allowing the Ministry to perform
again building toward a better future. UNDP critical activities and is working to provisionally
re-establish the court system.
is proud to be part of that effort, renewing its
commitment to work with the Government, Ten days after the earthquake, UNDP was
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and tasked with leading the group of UN agencies
the Haitian people on poverty reduction, gov- and NGOs coordinating early recovery. UNDP,
ernance, disaster risk reduction and environ- with other UN organizations and partners,
mental programmes. supported the Government of Haiti in its
crucial post-disaster needs assessment, pro-
Restoring Livelihoods, creating Jobs viding the Government with the information
UNDP encountered serious setbacks to its pro- it needed to put together its medium- and
A cash-for-work recipi- gramming capabilities in the initial days and long-term reconstruction strategy. UNDP also
ent in Haiti. By the weeks after the earthquake. However, in the launched an aid management platform to
end of March 2010, months after the quake UNDP created tens of track international aid flows to Haiti in order to
UNDP had created an thousands of temporary jobs through a cash- improve aid coordination and accountability.
estimated 95,700 jobs for-work programme aimed at restoring the UNDP is also helping the Government
under the scheme. livelihoods and dignity of the Haitian people. prepare for future disasters, including those
that may occur during the hurricane season.
Efforts include providing technical support to
the Department of Civil Protection to enable
it to become operational before the hurricane
season; establishing an early warning system;
and managing Haiti’s watersheds to reduce
the risk of flooding.
Looking forward to the months and years
ahead, UNDP will focus first and foremost on
what the Government and its people deem
national priorities. This includes strengthening
governance and making sure women are part
of the decision-making process; decentraliz-
ing authority to the local level; and continuing
to support job creation and the development
of small and medium-sized businesses.
4 undp in action 2009/2010
Selected evaluation lessons and UNDP response: Climate change

UNDP is among the leading global institutions making a contribution to

international environmental efforts. UNDP has helped over 100 countries
prepare climate change vulnerability assessments and adaptation plans. Its
Areas of strength poverty and environment initiatives provide for effective mainstreaming of
environmental concerns into national development plans. UNDP engagement
ensured that the environment and its linkage with sustainable development
remains at the top of the national development agenda.

UNDP currently has only a small role in the overall energy picture. While
projects themselves appear impressive and innovative, sustainability remains
Areas for improvement a challenge. Climate change adaptation work must be integrated with work in
other focus areas and the linkages to poverty reduction interventions must be
clearer.

A new climate change strategy refines strategic priorities. The energy access
portfolio in Africa has seen a five-fold increase in funding over the last decade.
Response Closer cooperation with disaster risk reduction in the context of climate change
is being established.

gramming areas are especially critical in view and goals of least developed countries (LDCs),
of the UN’s High-level Plenary Meeting of the which face special challenges in addressing
65th Session of the General Assembly on the the calamities of our time, from economic
MDGs, which will assess where countries are crises to the mounting effects of climate
at and what they must achieve to meet the change. Delivery to those countries increased
MDGs. in 2009 to 42 percent of UNDP’s program-
Specifically, UNDP’s contributions in these ming; in 45 of the world’s 49 LDCs, UNDP
areas include: MDG planning, monitoring supports work in achieving the MDGs and
and reporting; support for achieving the MDGs poverty reduction and in fostering democratic
in a participatory way that includes people governance.
and organizations from all levels of society;
strengthening the ability of states to respond The Millennium Development Goals
to HIV and AIDS; assisting local-level institu- All of UNDP’s most important work, however,
tions as they strive to expand environment is in support of achieving the MDGs through
and energy services, especially to the poor; human development efforts ranging from
improving the ability of countries to prevent empowering women and implementing HIV-
and cope with the effects of natural disasters; education policies to promoting pro-poor
and restoring the economies and societal national policies and fighting environmental
infrastructure in countries that have experi- degradation.
enced crisis, whether natural or man-made. Since 2000, when the UN Member States
UNDP is focused especially on the needs adopted the Millennium Declaration and the

Selected evaluation lessons and UNDP response: HIV and aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria

A strong partnership was built with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis
and Malaria at the country level, which has led to tangible results in the
area of national institutions, strengthened capacity to plan and respond to
Areas of strength the pandemic, including the mainstreaming of HIV and AIDS into national
development agendas. The UNDP contribution was critical for a gender-sensitive
multi-sector response that reached vulnerable groups and sexual minorities.

The effective mainstreaming into poverty work requires greater attention,

and cross-practice work with gender and capacity development should be
Areas for improvement systematized. Handing over the role of principal recipient to national entities
requires increasing attention.

Global guidance and training is embedding gender mainstreaming as a joint

Response component of HIV and AIDS mainstreaming efforts; along with work across all
practices to comprehensively address the achievement of multiple MDGs.

5 introduction: making a real difference

 Implementing Inclusive Development:
UNDP works with governments to deliver on
their national programmes of MDG achieve-
ment to benefit real people with real prob-
lems. UNDP supports inclusive national initia-
tives ranging from energy access for the poor
and water governance to microfinance and
tackling inequality. Much of UNDP’s support
comes in the form of technical advice; one
successful component of this is taking advan-
tage of a South-South cooperation approach,
in which experts and officials in developing
countries who have successfully implemented
a programme share their knowledge and
experience with their counterparts in other
Women in Madagascar eight MDGs, UNDP’s support for them has developing countries.
receive UNDP support evolved at both national and global levels. Building Resilience: UNDP’s support in
through a microcredit According to the 2009 UNDP Partners Survey, crisis prevention and recovery, climate change
scheme. an independently run survey of UNDP’s part- and in analysing and responding to the impact
ners in government, business, media and of the economic crisis is designed to help
NGOs, 95 percent of survey respondents con- countries maximize and sustain the MDG
sider UNDP to be a ‘critical’ partner in contrib- progress they do achieve. External shocks will
uting to the MDGs. occur; UNDP works to make sure that national
Today, UNDP supports the achievement of institutions and the people who staff them are
MDGs in the countries where it works in four prepared.
key areas: With the 2010 global review of MDG prog-
Advocacy: By building support for the ress approaching, 2009 was a year for UNDP
MDGs across the world through advocacy to both take stock of progress made and to
campaigns, UNDP has significantly contrib- accelerate the work needed in the remaining
uted to a growing global awareness of the five years. At the same time the global eco-
goals and their importance. nomic crisis required an urgent response from
Assessment and Planning: UNDP has UNDP, especially in terms of helping countries
been at the forefront of assisting countries to to identify and protect the most vulnerable.
comprehensively measure where they are at Finally, the impact of climate change contin-
in achieving the MDGs and then develop and ued to threaten developing countries, espe-
adopt the strategies to get them where they cially the poorest.
need to be in time for the 2015 deadline.

Selected evaluation lessons and UNDP response: crisis prevention and recovery

Despite constraints and limitations, UNDP has made significant contributions in the
Areas of strength areas of disaster risk reduction, early recovery and the rehabilitation of institutions.

Real clarity on what ‘disaster’ and ‘risk’ mean to UNDP is needed for effective
programming. UNDP should not accept purely administrative functions, even
Areas for improvement when they fill a niche, at the expense of longer-term development functions. Long-
term strategies to avoid repeated flash appeals and temporary solutions in the
same country are needed.

UNDP is creating a single coherent strategic approach across the organization on

the definition and management of disaster risk, including climate change. More
Response effort is being invested to respond to demand for support to public administration
reform within a wider state-building agenda, with a strong focus on capacity
development in crisis-affected settings.

6 undp in action 2009/2010

 progress toward the milleNnium development goals

Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and Goal 5: improve maternal health

hunger Target 5.A Reduce by three quarters, between 1990 and
Target 1.A Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the pro­por­ 2015, the maternal mortality ratio
tion of people whose income is less than one dollar a day
Number of maternal deaths per 100,000 live births
Proportion of people living on less than US$1.25 500
purchasing power parity (PPP) per day 490
50 % 480
45 % 470
40 % 460
35 % 450
30 %
1990 2005
25 %
1990 1999 2005 Goal 6: combat hiv/aids, malaria, and
other diseases
Goal 2: achieve universal primary Target 6.B Achieve, by 2010, universal access to
education treatment for HIV and AIDS for all those who need it
Target 2.A Ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere,
boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course Proportion of population with advanced HIV infection
of primary schooling with access to antiretroviral drugs
35 %
Proportion of enrolment in primary education (net) 32 %
90 % 29 %
87 % 26 %
84 % 23 %
81 % 20 %
78 %
2006 2007
75 %
1991 2000 2007 Goal 7: ensure environmental
sustainability
Goal 3: promote gender equality and Target 7.A Integrate the principles of sustainable
empower women development into country policies and programmes and
Target 3.A Eliminate gender disparity in primary and reverse the loss of environmental resources
secondary education, preferably by 2005, and in all levels
of education no later than 2015 Amount of carbon dioxide (CO2 ) emissions (total, in
millions of metric tonnes)
Ratio of girls to boys primary education enrolment 14,000
(gross) 12,500
1.00 11,000
0.96 9,500
0.92 8,000
0.88 6,500
0.84
1990 2000 2006
0.80
1991 2000 2007 Goal 8: develop a global partnership for
development
Goal 4: reduce child mortality Target 8.B Address the special needs of least developed
Target 4.A Reduce by two thirds, between 1990 and countries (LDCs)
2015, the under-five mortality rate
Aid to LDCs as a proportion of donors’ gross national
Rate of under-five mortality (per 1,000 live births) income
110 10 %
100 9%
90 8%
80 7%
70 6%
60 5%
1990 2000 2007 1990 ’02 ’03 ’04 ’05 ’06 ’07

Icons: UNDP Brazil

Source: Statistical Annex, The Millennium Development Goals Report 2009, UN

7 introduction: making a real difference