United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) 12448 views

UNDP works in some 170 countries and territories, helping to achieve the eradication of poverty, and the reduction of inequalities and exclusion. We help countries to develop policies, leadership skills, partnering abilities, institutional capabilities and build resilience in order to sustain development results.

Inclusive growth, better services, environmental sustainability, good governance, and security are fundamental to development progress. We offer our expertise in development thinking and practice, and our decades of experience at country level, to support countries to meet their development aspirations and to bring the voices of the world’s peoples into deliberations.In 2016, UNDP is continuing its work to support the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 17 new Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs), or Global Goals, as they help shape global sustainable development for the next 15 years.

UNDP focuses on helping countries build and share solutions in three main areas:

Sustainable development

Democratic governance and peacebuilding

Climate and disaster resilience

In all our activities, we encourage the protection of human rights and the empowerment of women, minorities and the poorest and most vulnerable.

The annual Human Development Report, commissioned by UNDP, focuses the global debate on key development issues, providing new measurement tools, innovative analysis and often controversial policy proposals. The global Report's analytical framework and inclusive approach carry over into regional, national and local Human Development Reports, also supported by UNDP.

UNDP role in UN coordination

UN coordination is a key priority for UNDP and a commitment in our Strategic Plan. The UNDP Administrator is the Chair of the UN Development Group (UNDG), which unites the funds, programmes, specialized agencies, departments and offices of the UN system that play a role in development. Created by former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and endorsed by the General Assembly, the UNDG seeks to ‘facilitate joint policy formulation, encourage programmatic collaboration and realize management efficiencies’ among UN agencies.

At the country level, this interagency structure is embedded in the Resident Coordinator System (RCS), which encompasses all organizations of the United Nations system with operational activities for development. The RCS is managed by UNDP on behalf of the entire system. The Resident Coordinator function is carried by the UNDP Resident Representative. As the designated representative of the Secretary-General, the Resident Coordinator is the leader of the UN Country Team (UNCT) and plays a central role in coordinating the UN’s development operations and ensuring alignment with national priorities. UNDP provides the lion’s share of the resources needed to maintain the RC system in over 130 countries. The remainder of the RCS funding comes from a cost-sharing arrangement between all participating agencies.

UNDP also administers the UN Capital Development Fund, which helps developing countries grow their economies by supplementing existing sources of capital assistance by means of grants and loans; and UN Volunteers, which fields over 6,000 volunteers from 160 countries in support of peace and development through volunteerism worldwide.