A World of Development Experience

United Nations Development Programme Annual Report 2003

Putting the World Back Together 1

The Global Community Responds to Crisis 2

UNDP Reform: Equipped to Meet

Challenges With Results 6

Five Global Challenges, Six UNDP Practices 10

Conflicts and Natural Disasters:

Bridging the Gap 12

Human and Economic Development:

Priorities That Benefit the Poor 14

Nation Building: A Foundation

in Democratic Governance 16

People and Our Planet: The Road

to Sustainable Development 18

HIV/AIDS: Coping with Loss,

Advocating for Hope 20

Resources 22

Contents

Cover: Arising from the Millennium Declaration, unanimously agreed toby world leaders at the United Nations in 2000, the eight MillenniumDevelopment Goals commit developed and developing countries to anew global partnership to achieve a series of timebound targets, with theoverarching goal of halving extreme poverty by 2015. UNDP, the UNsglobal development network, is helping countries achieve these Goals.

1Putting the World Back Together

For the international communityand the UnitedNations system2002 was a time of enormous challenges. A year that began hopefully with the establish-ment of a new government in war-torn Afghanistan,supported with unprecedented speed and scale by the UN and its partners, ended on a much gloomier note.The build-up to a new conflict in Iraq both deeplydivided global public opinion and posed real threats to a broader vision of multilateral responses to global crises.On the larger development front, we witnessed the relentless spread of HIV/AIDS and other diseases world-wide, the appearance of new conflicts and famine inAfrica, renewed instability in some democracies in LatinAmerica, and economic setbacks across many of the Arab States and parts of Central Europe.

But despite these trends, and outside the spotlight onthe Middle East, the longer term global agenda forbroader prosperity and security moved forward. At twohistoric United Nations conferencesin Monterrey,Mexico and Johannesburg, South Africarich and poorcountries together not only reaffirmed their commitmentto the eight Millennium Development Goals, but alsomapped out a way to accelerate sustainable developmentacross the globe based on a partnership of mutualaccountability. In an early tangible sign of that commit-ment, donors announced the first significant increase inofficial development assistance in 30 years, a turnaroundthat has already resulted in total aid climbing by almostfive percent in 2002. The bulk of the new money willsupport those developing countries undertaking good

faith political, social and economic reforms aimed atconsolidating democracy and spurring economic growth.

Of course much more is needednot just in terms ofaid, but through broader actions in trade; in technologytransfers, including essential medicines; and in debt relief.Yet it is a promising start, as long as the funds flow mainlytoward the poorest people, rather than being siphoned off to emerging crises such as Iraq. And the MDGs willprove to be the critical building blocks, unlocking enor-mous political energy across the developing world andhelping focus domestic debate on issues like how to raiseand strategically reallocatemore domestic resources fordevelopment priorities. Unlike previous developmentvisions that were mainly accessible to technocrats, theMDGs encapsulate the most basic aspirations of peopleeverywhere, from health to education to prosperity. Time-bound and measurable, they track progress in real timeand provide data that drives actions and results.

Over the last three years, the United Nations Develop-ment Programme (UNDP) has integrated the goals acrossour work, and, through our leadership of the UnitedNations Development Group (UNDG), coordinated theresearch, measurement and campaign efforts of the UNsystem. This has helped create a harmonized approach toUN development activities, and offered a new frameworkfor stronger partnerships with governments, the BrettonWoods Institutions, bilateral organizations, civil societyand the private sector.

Just as important, it has provided added impetus toUNDPs ongoing internal reform efforts. Todays UNDPis a more streamlined, results-oriented and connectedorganization. We are better attuned to the needs of ourpartnersas this report testifies and independent surveysconfirm. And through the power of our stronger, moreefficient networks, we can tap the full range of UNDPsglobal resources in addressing development challengesanywhere in the world.

In the months and years to come, the real task forUNDPas for the entire UN systemis to build on thesesuccesses and help our partners implement the Monterreyand Johannesburg agendas. By doing so, we can demon-strate how global challengeswhether related to securityor poverty, disease or environmental degradationcanonly be successfully addressed in a multilateral frame-work, one that fosters common action to meet our sharedgoal of a better, safer, more prosperous world.

Mark Malloch BrownAdministrator

Malloch Brown (right) visits the UNDP-supported KigaliInstitute of Science and Technology in Rwanda.

W e live in a world of both crisis and hope, a worldwhere development is working, but not for every-one. A mere 50 years ago, more than half of all peoplelived on the equivalent of less than a dollar a day. Today,that figure is 20 percent. Over the same period, lifeexpectancy grew by 20 years, as much as had beenachieved in all of prior human history. Literacy ratessoared to 75 percent. During the 1990s alone, a billionpeople finally had safe water to drink. A third fewer children died from preventable causes before their fifthbirthday, and the eradication of polio seemed near.

These achievements have unfurled against the steadygrowth of democracy around the globe, which means thatmore people have discovered the political voice to shape a better life. A vibrant civil society has flourished, with amultitude of voices challenging the world to engage indebates on issues from womens rights to debt relief topeace. Private enterprise has taken hold in places where itoffers the best possibility for economic well-being. Newtechnologies have spun a web of global connections,giving countries the chance to leapfrog decades of incre-mental technological advances. And the internationaldevelopment community, including the United NationsDevelopment Programme (UNDP), is better equipped totake action: more accountable, more willing and able to work in partnerships, and more committed to the prin-ciple that countries must take the lead in creating theirown solutions to the difficulties they face.

Yet even with all these signs of progress and a greatreservoir of good intention, in many places of the world

there is a grimmer tale that can also be told, aboutcircumstances so dire that they couldin some casesalready dooverwhelm all that has been gained. In 2002,nearly 1.2 billion people lived in extreme poverty, definedas an income of less than US$1 per day. More than 50countries were either recovering from or embroiled in waror natural disaster. AIDS continued to gut the mostproductive portions of the workforce in a number ofcountries, while famine stole swiftly through SouthernAfrica. Economic and political institutions bordered oncollapse in several states. Unrest steadily brewed amongpeoples torn between the promises and the pitfalls ofglobalization.

Poverty and its net of deprivations lie at the heart of allof these issues, and some developing countries have madetremendous gains in reducing it. Asia, which bears thegreatest number of people living in extreme poverty, is ontrack to offer ways out over the coming decade: China hascut income poverty in half during the 1990s alone. Sadly,many more countries, hit with a welter of political andeconomic crises, are experiencing development reversalsfor the first time in decades. Worldwide, 54 countries arepoorer than they were in 1990. The picture is particularlycritical in sub-Saharan Africa, where the proportion hasactually increased, enveloping nearly one in every twopeople. If current trends continue, extreme poverty willbe a way of life here until late in the 23rd Century.

The Global Community Responds to Crisis

S O M E M A J O R W O R L D E V E N T S , 2 0 0 2

The Chechen conflict reaches Moscow when rebels take over a theatre with 600 people inside.

The International Criminal Court is born, heralding a new era of accountability.

The European Union ratifies the Kyoto Protocol, moving closer to binding reductions of greenhouse gases.

Introduction of the Euro in EU countries.

NATO grew by six countries; the EU opens for 10.

Since the International Conference on Financing for Development in Monterrey, Mexico, donor countries pledged US$16 billion in aid by 2006.

The Guatemala National Womens Forum brings recordnumbers of women into local and national politics.

A coup fails in Venezuela, but is followed by widespreadunrest.

Argentina stumbles into deep economic crisis, defaulting on private and multilateral loans.

2

A Defining MomentFor UNDP, despite these points of despair, there is alsowide room for optimism. In 2003, the world has come toa defining moment, with the convergence of severalimportant trends opening unprecedented opportunitiesto move into a new and better century. While globaliza-tion has drawn sharper lines between those who have andthose who dont, it has also made them more aware ofeach other than ever before. If trade and capital flowsknow no borders, neither do disease, environmentaldestruction and terrorism. Faced with steadily mountinginstability in every region, the international communityhas been confronted with the fact that sharing benefitsand burdens is not just a moral imperative, but in theinterest of the world as a whole.

Already, the recognition has dawned that little progresswill be made without additional funds. Sources ofassistance for development have been increasing anddiversifying, with private wealth pouring into founda-tions, including those created by the American entrepre-neurs Bill Gates and Ted Turner. New public and privatefinancing mechanisms have sprung up, including theGlobal Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria,and the Millennium Challenge Account. And at the 2002International Conference on Financing for Development,donor governments made striking new commitments toraise development assistanceEurope and the UnitedStates together promised an additional $16 billion by 2006.Subsequently, just before the World Summit on Sustain-able Development, donors agreed to replenish the GlobalEnvironment Facilityin which UNDP is one of the threemain implementing partnerswith nearly $3 billion.

A renewed spirit of partnership has also flourished,through an understanding that coping with great chal-lenges and effectively marshalling the funds to meet themrequires all those who work in development to worktogether. The UN Secretary-Generals reform agenda hascalled upon UN agencies, led by UNDP, to harmonizetheir country programmes. Stronger bonds have beenforged between the United Nations, the World Bank, theregional development banks and the InternationalMonetary Fund (IMF). These institutions are in turnsuccessfully establishing new links with governmentcounterparts, foundations, private corporations and arich array of civil society organizations.

A global agreement has emerged as the premise for theflow of resources and the construction of partnerships.Wealthier nations are willing to make trade concessions,offer debt relief and raise development assistance forthose countries willing to use resources well, even if thatmeans making tough choices. The worlds chequebookand goodwill can never be large enough. Economic andpolitical transformation can be supported from outside,but they must start from within.

As the UNs global development network, UNDP workson the ground in 166 countries, advocating and buildingthe capacity for this transformation to take place. Weconnect countries to knowledge, experience and resourcesthat help people build a better life, and work with them ontheir own solutions to global and national developmentchallenges. As they develop local capacity, they draw on the people of UNDP and our wide range of partners,forming coalitions for change.

Violence wracks Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

Hamid Karzai becomes President of Afghanistan with theestablishment of a new Transitional Administration.

The UN warned that a thick belt of smog stretching acrossSouth Asia was changing weather patterns and endangeringhealth.

Sri Lanka made headway on peace talks, after decades ofethnic conflict.

A terrorist bomb in Bali kills 187 people at a nightclub.

Timor-Leste (formerly East Timor) becomes the worldsyoungest nationand newest member of the UN.

Instability, record rates of HIV/AIDS and looming faminethreaten much of Southern Africa.

More than 20,000 people attend the World Summit onSustainable Development in Johannesburg, South Africa.

3

The Millennium Development GoalsAt the Millennium Summit in 2000, world leaders signedonto the Millennium Development Goals, a politicalcompact to translate globally agreed priorities into abetter world for everyone. The MDGs are a simple butpowerful idea. By setting basic targets for developmentoutcomes, they provide a direction for taking action oneight key development issues, beginning with poverty. It isup to governments and people themselves to choose thesteps to reach these goals, whether that means sound poli-cies, shifted budget priorities, reformed institutions, or

stronger links to the outside world. International agenciessuch as UNDP support these choices.

Much more than numbers and words on paper, theMDGs encapsulate the common concerns of peopleeverywhere. They are the ordinary issues of puttingenough food on the table and educating children andstaying healthy. They do not require anything more thanthe experience of everyday life to understand. As such,they carry enormous potential for steering the politicalwill to combat poverty. They open space for people toimagine a better future and ask their government to planhow to get there. They offer a universal yardstick forperformance as well as an agreed platform for compari-son across countries and regions.

Already, political leaders are running on promises toachieve the MDGs, and oppositions are developingcampaigns to challenge governments who have failed todo so. As a basis for partnership, the MDGs now informthe core of some national poverty reduction strategyagreements, and donors are realigning their supportaround the goals. Civil society campaigns are busyeducating people about how to use them for advocacy.

The MDGs set the terms of a globalization driven notsolely by the interests of the strong, but managed in theinterests of the poor. They offer an avenue for accounta-bility between governments and people, a tool forassessing whether development donors are matching theircommitments, and a means for states to prove to investors,whether donors or private corporations, that their futuredeserves support. At UNDP, our global network links andcoordinates efforts to achieve the goals, helping countriestake on their most critical development challenges.

UNDP and a Global Partnership for DevelopmentWork on the MDGs took on urgent momentum in 2002,propelled by the continued eruption of political crisesand global economic downturn, and facilitated bygrowing collaboration between UNDP and the otheragencies of the UN Development Group (UNDG). TheSecretary-General entrusted the UNDP Administratorwith the leadership of the MDG agenda within the UNsystem, and in the middle of the year the UNDG, chairedby UNDP, agreed on a collective UN strategy for mobiliz-ing national and global partners to support countriesstriving to reach the goals.

A key activity has already become the preparation of MDG Reports in each country: 25 have been issued,with another 60 on the way. The reports provide peoplewith basic information that is easy to grasp, and in some countries offer a simple and nonprescriptive comple-ment to the complex macroeconomic analysis of poverty reduction strategies. Using the eight basic goals, thereports quickly reveal where a country is lagging behindor moving forward, where resources are lacking or beingused efficiently.

With a sound framework of development policies inplace and a comprehensive national poverty moni-toring system,Tanzania was able to quickly produce theworlds first MDG Report. Since then, it has become a model for other countries.

In 2001, UNDP began working with other UN systempartners to help the government mainstream the MDGsthroughout its policies and poverty monitoring system.A major benefit readily became clear: the long-term aspirations of the MDGs complement the shorter-termtargets of Tanzanias poverty reduction strategy. Policy-makers could now envision the future while taking thesteps required to reach it.

Integrating the MDGs into Tanzanias poverty monitoringprocess proved to be relatively straightforward. Earlier,UNDP had brought together other partners, including bilateral donors, to offer assistance in creating a survey andresearch system with a range of data sources. Following theintroduction of the goals, the system expanded to featurealmost all of the MDG indicators. Data is now collected in the Tanzania Socio-Economic Database, which generatesstatistics at the touch of a button.

While Tanzanias first MDG Report in 2001 was producedseparately, by 2002 the assessment of MDG indicators hadbecome an essential part of the annual Poverty and HumanDevelopment Report. A lesson already learned is that MDGreporting must venture beyond national averages, whichsometimes obscure variations.The 2002 report breaksdown data on poverty, clearly revealing, for example, thatwhile overall school enrolment rose during the 1990s, it fellamong children in the poorest families. Policymakers willnow need to consider ways to address this shortfall.

UNDP and the UN country team have also promoted the MDGs as a natural instrument for advocacy and part-nership.The process of preparing reports brings togethergovernment officials, civil society representatives,academics, gender specialists and development agencies,and offers opportunities for people to contribute theirviews as findings emerge.They ask questions: Will thispolicy be a breakthrough? Are there enough resources? Is short-term economic growth compatible with longerterm environmental issues? Finding the answers will ensurethat Tanzanians make real progress toward the vision theyhave outlined for themselves.

Tanzania: A Model for MDG Reporting

4

5P OV E R T Y I S FA L L I N G , B U T N OT FA S T E N O U G H

UNDP has called for firmly rooting the MDG Reportsin partnerships involving governments, civil society andmembers of UN country teams, which are often coordi-nated by UNDP Resident Representatives. This fostersnational ownership and interest, along with widespreadcommitment. Some recent reports have underscored whatis locally relevant in the goals; others have broken downdata to highlight disparities by gender, region or ethnicity.By providing empirical evidence that stimulates publicdebate, the reports are stirring the political choices thatmark the move into successful development strategies,whether that means spending more on girls education orshunting funds into slum improvement.

Another important MDG initiative is the MillenniumProject, launched in August 2002. Led by renownedColumbia University Professor Jeffrey Sachs, the SpecialAdviser to the Secretary-General for the MDGs, it taps350 of the best minds in the North and South from acrossthe natural and social sciences. The project will exploreinnovative ways to reach the goals, and use sophisticatedmapping technology to track progress around the globe.It has already made a major contribution to UNDPsHuman Development Report 2003: Millennium Develop-ment GoalsA Compact Among Nations to End HumanPoverty. For the first time, the report compiles all availabledata on every countrys progress.

The Millennium Campaign kicked off late in 2002,under the leadership of former Netherlands DevelopmentMinister Eveline Herfkens. It is hard at work fashioningnetworks of civil society members, parliamentarians, themedia and others who can advocate for the MDGs. Toencourage public debate, the campaign has embarked on

a global partnership with the British BroadcastingCorporation as part of a broader effort to expand world-wide media outreach.

The UN system itself, under the umbrella of the UNDGand as part of the UN reform process, has also begunaligning its own work with the MDGs. In 2003, UNDPand its UNDG partners piloted initiatives for synchroniz-ing programming policies, and a new generation ofharmonized country programmes, which guide the workof UN agencies on the national level, came on line.

As a coordinator of the MDGs, as the leader of joint aidand assistance efforts within the UN system, and as adevelopment partner in 166 countries, UNDP is particu-larly committed to setting a strong example on the MDGswithin our own house. Our 2004-2007 corporate priori-ties will frame how our programmes can best supportcountries working on the goals. We are also reshapingoperations, communications, training and annual staffassessment exercises. As a four-year cycle of reform atUNDP ends, we are well positioned to take on the chal-lenges posed by the MDGs, and move forward, inpartnership, to bring the goals alive.

1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

2. Achieve universal primary education

3. Promote gender equality and empower women

4. Reduce child mortality

5. Improve maternal health

6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases

7. Ensure environmental sustainability

8. Develop a global partnership for development

Europe & Central Asia South Asia

Latin America & the Caribbean

Sub-Saharan Africa Middle East & North Africa

Poverty rate (% below $1.08) as of 1999

East Asia & the Pacific1990 1999 2015 1990 1999 2015 1990 1999 2015

1990 1999 2015 1990 1999 2015 1990 1999 2015

30

25

20

15

10

3.0

2.5

2.0

1.5

1.0

50

45

30

25

20

20

15

10

5

0

4

3

2

1

0

44

38

32

26

20

= 1990 = Millennium Development Goal of halving poverty by 2015

= rate of progress needed to meet goal = rate of progress made as of 1999

M I L L E N N I U M D E V E LO P M E N T G OA L S

Source: World Bank

6Today, UNDP has come to the close of the mostdramatic four-year internal transformation in ourhistory. We are more capable than ever before of respond-ing to the worlds development challenges because ourorganization is stronger, more focused and betterconnected. We seek and achieve results, and underscoreaccountability in all that we do. We look for new andcreative opportunities to help people build better lives,through partnerships and the exchange of knowledge,while ensuring that our resources flow steadily behind our mission to reduce poverty.

Change That Supports Global ConsensusAt the start of the millennium, as the worlds leaders gath-ered to endorse the MDGs, UNDP embarked on its2000-2003 Business Plan, aiming to take a fresh and moreresponsive approach to our mandate. Our first stepsbrought changes in corporate leadership, streamlining oforganizational structures at headquarters, and a newemphasis on teamwork and staff performance. We thenintroduced these better ways of doing business in countryoffices across the organization, aligning them with corpo-rate and client priorities. We began measuring theimplementation of corporate plans across country officesand headquarters units, and institutionalized detailedannual reports chronicling achievements and results.Critically, these reforms caught the attention of donorgovernments, who demonstrated their approval by revers-ing a seven-year downward trend in core resources.

Recognizing the need for a global network to dissemi-

nate knowledge on development, and to strengthen linksto work on the ground, we posted 100 policy specialists innine sub-regional resource facilities (SURFs), based acrossthe worlds five regions. Through high-tech networks, theSURFs now thread thousands of participants together andsupport the quick and easy circulation of best practicesand expertise around the world. In response to growingrequests for quality technical assistance from programmecountries, we sharpened the focus of our policy work bydefining six practice areas. These correspond to the mostcritical development concerns cited by our developingcountry clientsdemocratic governance, poverty reduc-tion, crisis prevention and recovery, energy and environ-ment, information and communications technology andHIV/AIDS. Across all of them, we promote human rightsand the empowerment of women. We have also steppedinto our role as coordinator of UN system work on theMDGs, and expanded our global network through part-nerships with civil society organizations, foundations, theprivate sector and international institutions.

Over the last year, with these fundamental changes inplace, our efforts have turned toward fine-tuning in fourfoundational areas.

A Valued Source of Policy ExpertiseIn 2000, we set out to become a decentralized, networkedorganization that gives policy expertise and practical solutions where they are needed most: in programmecountries. We are coming close to that goal. To enhancethe practices in 2002, we assigned new leadership respon-

UNDP Reform: Equipped to Meet Challenges With Results

K N O W L E D G E S H A R E D A R O U N D T H E W O R L DUNDPs SURF networks bring thousands of people together to exchange experiences and replicate successes.

Addis Ababa

Bangkok

Kathmandu

Bratislava

Beirut

Harare

Panama City

New York City

Dakar

Port-of-Spain

7MDG Support Programme was established to carry outactivities such as the Millennium Project. Ten bilateraldonors and two foundations back the Programme; assis-tance is channeled through the Millennium Trust Fund,which serves as a funding mechanism. We also struckpartnerships with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundationand the Bank of Sweden Tercentenary Foundation to raiseglobal awareness on the goals.

Relationships with key international financial institu-tions continued to strengthen, including through formalpartnerships with the African Development Bank, theAsian Development Bank and the Inter-American Devel-opment Bank. UNDP and the World Bank jointly assessed

sibilities to senior managers and launched a set ofthematic trust funds financed by special donor contribu-tions. The funds help align projects in specific countrieswith UNDPs overarching corporate strategies.

By the close of the year, almost 2,500 UNDP staff hadjoined knowledge networks affiliated with the practices,building their professional skills and broadening commu-nication on these issues across the organization.Additional networks formed around cross-cutting topicssuch as gender, management practices, South-Southcooperation and the MDGs, while the SURFs fieldedthousands of requests for policy support services fromgovernments. Global thematic facilities to research andprovide policy advisory services on democratic gover-nance and poverty reduction opened in Oslo and Rio deJaneiro, respectively, and the Drylands DevelopmentCentre in Nairobi began offering world-class expertise onthe distinct challenges of drylands.

A new corporate brand was launched, drawing onextensive research to craft a clear statement on UNDPsunique role as the UNs global development network. Thebrand does much more than simply informing allcommunication materialsit now frames the way that weset our organizational priorities.

Soon after opening our fully fledged Bureau for CrisisPrevention and Recovery in late 2001, UNDP assumed anunprecedented role in Afghanistan. Through the coordi-nation of relief and reconstruction efforts, we helped toharness the energies of the entire UN system around asingle coherent strategy for rebuilding this shatteredcountry, in line with the vision of the Afghan people, theSecretary-General and UN Member States.

A Strong and Trusted PartnerThe 2000-2003 Business Plan called for UNDP to growinto an organization that leverages its strengths throughpartnerships, actively searching for innovative ways towork with other key institutions on devising and sharingsolutions. In 2002, the international community, throughboth the International Conference on Financing forDevelopment and the World Summit for SustainableDevelopment, affirmed this approach, stressing that theproblems of the world are too large for any one organiza-tion or even category of institutions to go it alone. Thecircle of partners has grown beyond governments andinternational institutions and must continue to spiraloutward, encompassing the dynamism of civil society, theresources and technology of the private sector, and theknowledge and expertise of foundations and universities.

Strong collaboration among all of these parties will beparticularly essential as the world strives to achieve theMDGs, and UNDP bears a particular responsibility as theUNs coordinator of the goals. In 2002, we took a majorstep forward by bringing together all the agencies of theUN to commit to a common MDG strategy. Our in-house

Time magazine called the 2002 Arab Human DevelopmentReport the most important publication of the year.Sponsored by UNDP and the Arab Fund for Economic andSocial Development, the preparation of the report broughttogether scholars and policy specialists from across theregion.Together, they debated and published their findingson deprivation in the Arab world, linking it to three inter-related deficits: freedom, womens empowerment andknowledge. So striking were the reports recommendationsthat it is now being used in a number of countries to focuspolicy attention on these issues; the King of Jordan called it a blueprint for development.

The Arab Human Development Reportwhich will befollowed by a second version in 2003 that looks moreclosely at knowledge deficitsis just one of a series ofhighly successful publications. Starting with the interna-tionally renowned Human Development Report, theypresent often provocative analysis and data that promptsdebate and new policymaking, and energizes advocacyefforts. In recent years, as part of our movement to firmlyground our work in programme countries, UNDP hasplaced a growing emphasis on the preparation of highquality national and regional human development reportsthat target compelling issuesfrom HIV/AIDS in Botswanato the substandard living conditions of the Roma in Europe.A global network brings together people working on thesepublications to share ideas and experiences.

So far, more than 450 reports have become a basis fordialogue between governments and donors, as well asimportant tools for civil society, academics and the media.Increasingly, they also contribute to measuring progresstoward the MDGs.To honour particularly outstandingexamples, the United Nations Foundation now underwritesa biennial awards programme. And in 2002, the newlycreated Mahbub ul Haq Award went for the first time toBrazils President Fernando Henrique Cardoso, for usingboth global and national human development reports tomake sure national anti-poverty programmes reach deepinto his countrys poorest communities.

The Impact of Advocacy: Reports That Change Lives

the development needs of several countries, includingAfghanistan. In over 60 developing countries, UNDP andthe UNDG have agreed to work with the Bank on ways toinfuse and measure national poverty reduction strategieswith the MDGs. A joint UNDP-World Bank initiative isthe new International Development Evaluation Associa-tion, based in South Africa, which will advocate the essen-tial role of evaluation in transparency and good governance.

Within UNDP, a major initiative to advance coopera-tion between country offices and civil society, the privatesector and Bretton Woods institutions took shape in theform of the Partnership Facility. In its first year of opera-tion, it funded projects in 17 countries. And UNDPcontinues to routinely search for points of cooperation,where mutually benefical opportunities arise. In 2002, wepartnered with the American Bar Association to supportthe International Legal Resource Center. Along with othergroups and at the request of the government, it assessedViet Nams draft bankruptcy law. For the InternationalConference on Financing for Development, UNDP, theUnited Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM)and the Womens Environment and DevelopmentOrganization jointly published a manual explaining howto analyze macroeconomic policies and budgets from theperspective of gender.

Commitment to Our PeopleFrom the beginning of the business plan, we realized ourmost important resource is our people, so we turned ourattention to attracting energetic new staff, both womenand men, while retaining the best of our already rich exist-ing talent pool. A new succession planning initiative, the

Leadership Development programme, attracts and groomsyoung managers. In general, staff commitment to workingat UNDP has shot steadily upward during the reforms, asmeasured by annual global staff surveys. Today, 74 percentof UNDP staff say they are optimistic about our future,compared to 57 percent only two years ago.

The staff surveys, along with yearly country office pollsof headquarters products and services, are comprehensivemeasurement tools that provide insight on our strengthsand weaknesses, opening avenues for better performanceand greater accountability. They have underscored, forexample, the critical importance of improving peoplesbasic skills and matching staff more closely with theirjobs. Last year, for the first time ever, we brought togetherall Deputy Resident Representatives for training in Bang-kok, Thailand to enhance their capabilities as managers.A Resident Coordinator assessment centre evaluated 89existing and newly appointed Resident Coordinators andRepresentatives. Another 87 staff members graduatedfrom the first class of the Virtual Development Academy,which offers one-year online courses. An additional 130 staff enrolled in the 2003 course, shaped around thesix practices.

A new Management Development Centre is beingdesigned, while a Learning Resources Centre, whichincludes a network of learning managers, is encouragingstaff to spend at least five percent of their time on educa-tion that supports their work and the development oftheir careers. In response to concerns about resolvinggrievances, we appointed a professional ombudsperson,while the We Care programme to assist staff affected by

8

UNDPs central coordination role in Afghanistan harnessedthe energies of the UN system, helping Afghanis celebratethe opening of their Emergency Loya Jirga.

PA R T N E R S S AY T H E Y VA LU E U N D P

A survey across 118 countries found high approval rates.

Source: UNDP External Partnerships Survey 2002

All respondents

Governments

UN Agencies

Intl Fin. Inst.

Bilaterals

Civil Society

Private Sector

Other

Unknown

87%

92%

82%

78%

74%

86%

90%

90%

95%

9HIV/AIDS started up in 10 countries hardest hit by theepidemic, with expansion to another 10 expected by theclose of 2003.

Dedication to Performance and ResultsThe streamlining of our business operations, the intro-duction of the practices, and our insistence on moni-toring performance and resultsalong with significantassociated cost savingshave prompted the developmentof a $50 million information and communications tech-nology (ICT) strategy. All country offices have upgradedtheir Internet connections, including in the many coun-tries where poor infrastructure means these services areotherwise not available. And we have recently purchasedthe Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, a singlesoftware platform widely used by the private sector thatwill replace more than a dozen other applications.Beginning in 2004, the ERP will coordinate financial,project and human resources across UNDP, and makereporting results more accurate and efficient.

Looking AheadIn late 2002, UNDPs Strategic Management Teamdecided to continue deepening reform in the four areasdescribed above. We will also explore how UNDP can bestsupport the Secretary-Generals reform agenda, whichwill harmonize and simplify operations across the UNsystem. And while all categories of resources are nowrising at UNDP, a renewed emphasis on core funding willensure we consistently have the financial strength andflexibility to respond to development challenges as they

arise. This will include an exploration of diversifyingsources of funds.

As an organization, we have also become increasinglyaware of areas where we mustand willdo better.While our 2002 External Partnerships Survey revealedhigh levels of appreciation for UNDP across the board92 percent of governments now consider us a valuablepartnera lower 57 percent of respondents felt thatUNDP is flexible enough in making midstream changesto development projects. We will begin to address thisissue with the ERP system.

Other issues relate to our staff. With conflicts escalatingaround the world, a growing number of staff may at somepoint serve in countries at or recovering from war. Theymust be properly trained and supported by effective secu-rity measures, so changes are taking place in the Office ofHuman Resources to respond to these needs. Efforts arealso currently underway to increase the percentage ofwomen in higher ranks, including Resident Coordinatorpositions. As of November 2002, women filled 28 percentof these jobs.

In the coming year, we will develop corporate prioritiesfor 2004-2007 that will build upon existing reforms andsustain initiatives where we have clearly proven outstand-ing performance. Yet all of our work will feel the influenceof a major push to fully incorporate the MDGs across ourprogrammes. This will include supporting countries todevelop strategies to reach the goals, boosting global andnational capacities for measurement and analysis, andadvocating that the MDG commitments are a tool for useby people at all levels, everywhere.

F O U R Y E A R S O F T H E U N D P B U S I N E S S P L A N , M I L E S TO N E S A N D AC H I E V E M E N T S

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U N D P P R O G R A M M E H I G H L I G H T S O F 2 0 0 2

Morocco: pioneered microfinance forwomen Egypt: mobilized against female genitalmutilation Jordan: set up information technologycentres in remote areas Yemen: launched awareness campaign forparliamentary elections Djibouti: advocated for broader tradepartnerships

Key

Democratic Governance Poverty Reduction Crisis Prevention and Recovery Energy and Environment Informatin and Communications

Technology

HIV/AIDS

Five critical issues touch countries in every region: conflicts and natural disasters,human and economic development, nation building, sustainable resources and the environment, and infectious diseases. Often these challenges are interlinked,growing swiftly out of each other. UNDP understands the connections, and we design programmes and partnerships to respond to them. Guided by the MDGs,we untangle the root causes and help people find sustainable solutions, offering knowledge and advocacy in six fundamental areas of practice:

Democratic Governance: Promoting political participation and accountability at all levels.

Mexico: established a national independentelectoral observation mechanism Guatemala: encouraged debate and consensus onthe State Fiscal Pact Honduras: supported the National HIV/AIDSForum El Salvador: helped build final agreement on thepeace accord Nicaragua: promoted political and economicrights of indigenous people Haiti: partnered with the Fondation Sogebank to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS Ecuador: fostered community participation inpreparing local budgets The Amazon: linked international fashion houseswith traditional natural rubber producers,offering sustainable livelihoods Brazil: provided technical assistance to reformstate fiscal management

Burkina Faso: held a high-profile national dialogue on HIV/AIDS Benin and Niger: exchanged experiences on better oversight of budgets Chad: helped neighbourhood committees clean up the capital Republic of the Congo: demobilized over 7,000 ex-combatants Kenya and Uganda: shared inno-vative farmers experiences acrossagricultural extension programmes Zimbabwe: coordinated delivery of humanitarian aid and kept communication channels open in the land reform dispute

Five Global Challenges, Six UNDP Practices

10

Poverty Reduction: Assisting countries in creating pro-poor policies and budgets,and improving their capacity to deliver basic services.

Crisis Prevention and Recovery: Sharing innovative approaches, and bridging thegap between relief and long-term development.

Energy and Environment: Integrating environmental and resource considerationsinto efforts to reduce poverty.

Information and Communications Technology: Expanding access to ICT andharnessing its power for development.

HIV/AIDS: Mobilizing leaders, advocating against discrimination and finding waysto cope with the loss of human resources.

Afghanistan: set up its first Internet domain Pakistan: fostered land tenure and water andsanitation services to transform slums India: devised disaster preparedness plans forcoastal villages Nepal: established solar power, which in turn provided income-generation opportunities Bhutan: helped draft its first constitution Bangladesh: organized voter education Sri Lanka: taught migrants about HIV/AIDS Malaysia: engaged the private sector in energyconservation South Asia: sponsored a regional humandevelopment report urging reforms to alleviaterural poverty

Mongolia: supported new Poverty ResearchGroup in the Ministry of Finance and Economy China: backed preparation of the first MDG Report Bangkok: brought together parliamentariansfrom 20 countries to share strategies onimproving womens political participation Thailand-Cambodia: saved lives through mineawareness training Cambodia: assisted in revising decentralizationlaws and policies Viet Nam: advised closely on the draft PovertyReduction Strategy Paper Philippines: helped coordinate peace anddevelopment efforts in the south Solomon Islands: reintegrated ex-combatants

South-East Europe: coordinated widespread action againsthuman trafficking

Kosovo: created a community policing programme and setup an early warning system for triggers of conflict Albania: managed data to clear mines Georgia: broadcast weekly radio shows on human rights Kazakhstan: sponsored a study adopted by Parliament asthe National Programme on Rural Development Kyrgyzstan: introduced information technology in govern-ment and education

11

D ecades of development can be gone in a moment,whether a bomb drops from the sky or an earth-quake fissures the ground. No region is exempt, and thenumber of countries in crisis or at risk continues to edgeupwards. In todays wars, 90 percent of those who die arecivilians, primarily women and children. Eleven millionrefugees wander the globe seeking protection, on top of 20 to 25 million people who are internally displaced.And when man does not strike, nature sometimes does,sending typhoons, tidal waves, volcanic eruptions anddrought, to name only a few.

Conflicts and natural disasters often shine a spotlight on unresolved development problems. Failed states, poorinfrastructures and populations already weakened bydiseases such as HIV/AIDS compound the impact of catas-trophes, or help bring them into being. It can become a vicious cycle, deepening poverty, spawning hunger,destroying livelihoods and the hope for a better life.

UNDP RespondsUNDP works on the ground in countries before, duringand after catastrophes strike. In concert with governmentsand civil society, we analyze risk factors and set up earlywarning systems. Bridging the traditional gap betweenrelief efforts and longer term development goals, wepartner first with humanitarian agencies for recoveryefforts as soon as the need arises. And then we continuehelping, by supporting communities as they use nationaland international resources to rehabilitate themselves.

Throughout, we look for ways to address the root devel-

The United Nations Development Fund for Women(UNIFEM) supports innovative programmes to promotewomens empowerment, security and rights.Within the UNsystem, UNIFEM links womens issues to national, regional andglobal agendas by fostering collaboration and providing tech-nical expertise on gender mainstreaming and womensempowerment strategies. Administered by UNDP, UNIFEMworked in 2002 in three critical areas: peace and reconstruc-tion, economic security and womens human rights.

Support for womens leadership in peacebuilding andreconstruction resulted in womens participation in peaceprocesses in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia andSudan, and the mainstreaming of gender in constitutionaland legislative processes in post-conflict countries such asAfghanistan and Timor-Leste. Advocacy through theIndependent Experts Assessment entitled Women, War andPeace contributed to efforts within the European Union to harmonize peace and security frameworks with those of the UN.

To strengthen womens economic security and rights,UNIFEM partnered with UN regional commissions andwomens networks to gather gender-specific data for monitor-ing progress on the MDGs; backed initiatives to measurewomens unpaid work in the household and family businessesin 18 countries; and organized analyses of the impact ofnational and local budgets on gender in 20 countries.WithUNDP, UNIFEM helped to insert gender in poverty reductionstrategies in several African countries and to monitor thegender dimensions of the MDGs in Cambodia and Kazakhstan.

In promoting womens human rights and the ending ofviolence against women, UNIFEM scaled up its work onHIV/AIDS through partnerships with UNAIDS, UNFPA, ILO andUNHCR. UNIFEMs Trust Fund to Eliminate Violence againstWomen has awarded $7.8 million in grants to 147 initiativesworldwide.

Conflicts and Natural Disasters: Bridging the Gap

UNIFEM: Partner and Advocate for Women

12

opment causes of conflicts and disasters, from encourag-ing sound institutions to opening economic opportunitiesto promoting the participation of women in reconciliationand reconstruction. For knowledge, we draw from ourglobal network, which incubates and shares innovativeapproaches to conflict prevention, peacebuilding, anddisaster assessment and mitigation. All our activities inte-grate the UNs objectives for peace and security as well asdevelopment, including the MDGs. As the leader of theUNDG, we play a vital role in coordinating recovery assis-tance, and championing joint appeals to donors.

In 2002, our newly created Bureau for Crisis Preventionand Recovery completed its first full year, with programmesnow in over 60 developing countries. The Bureau assistsUNDP country offices on natural disaster reduction, justiceand security sector reform, curtailment of small arms,disarmament and demobilization, mine removal, conflictprevention and peacebuilding, and post-crisis economicand social recovery. In Afghanistan, UNDP played anunprecedented role in mobilizing over $75 million to coverthe initial expenses of the fledgling Afghanistan InterimAuthority Fund, and continues to provide such criticalforms of support as aid coordination and assistance onconstitutional reform. During 2003, we debuted the WorldVulnerability Report, a major new contribution to advocacythat highlights patterns of natural disaster risk and vulner-ability, and outlines strategic responses.

Haiti: Knowledge That Could Save Your NeighboursLocated in the very centre of the Caribbean, Haiti is prone

13

to natural disasters: floods, hurricanes, droughts andearthquakes. Deep-rooted poverty and ongoing politicaland economic instability have left most Haitians with fewoptions to avoid the unforgiving brunt of these catastro-phes, much less to recover easily once they pass.

UNDP has been coordinating other UN agencies andworking with donors, including the European Commis-sion, to help Haiti better prepare itself in identifying therisks it faces, and develop concrete methods, even given itslimited resources, to confront them. Since advance plan-ning always saves lives, a comprehensive national systemfor risk and disaster management has been established intandem with the government, the private sector and civilsociety, while a pilot Emergency Operations Centre,supported by the UN system, is devising ways to coordi-nate timely responses when threats arise.

Since a large percentage of Haitians live in villages or flimsily constructed slums, where they are the mostvulnerable to ruin, UNDP has also joined with localauthorities, businesses, churches and civil society to establish local committees with the knowledge to helptheir neighbours. Most people have little understandingof what to do when, for example, a hurricane hits.So committee members undergo training on where toevacuate, how to set up a local alert system, and how todisseminate information once a disaster begins. Taught in Creole, the local language, the workshops quicklyattract volunteersmen, women and young people.They are eager to learn because they know from experi-ence that Haiti is vulnerable. With the right information,people have a better chance to survive.

Eritrea: Restarting Local Economies After a WarAfter a three-decade quest for liberation and a bitterborder war with Ethiopia, Eritrea emerged three years ago saddled with more than a million internally displacedpeople and refugees. Buildings and roads had beendestroyed, mines littered the countryside, and prevalentdrought withered both the land and livelihoods. To assistEritrea in moving from relief to recovery, UNDP and awide circle of partners embarked on the Post-WarEmergency Rehabilitation (PoWER) programme, which is helping communities in war-affected regions of thecountry rebuild their lives.

One of a series of projects is taking place in thedramatic heights of the Qohaito plateau south of Asmara.UNDP and staff from the Irish aid agency Concern askedlocal communities to name their priorities. Honey andfootpaths, they said. The footpaths, in use for centuriesbut nearly destroyed during the war, connect differentvillages to each other and to outside markets and services.Beekeeping is an ancient traditionand had been animportant source of income.

Fatouma Sale was one of many widows in the areabarely scraping together enough to survive. ThroughPoWER, she soon found herself repairing the paths andproducing honey from a hive at home, earning enough to support her six children. Today, not only has Mrs. Salestopped worrying about fleeing the horrors of war, butshe has also confidently set her sights on a better futurefor her community, her family and herself.

T H E P O O R A R E M O R E V U L N E R A B L E TO C R I S I S

Deaths from natural disasters, 19922001Casualties from conflict, 19901999

Source: Human Development Report 2002 and World Disasters Report 2002

low human medium human high humandevelopment development development

Sub-Saharan Arab Eastern South East Asia Latin Am. &Africa States Europe & CIS Asia & Pacific Caribbean

2.0

1.6

1.2

0.8

0.4

350

280

210

140

70

millionsof people

thousandsof people

Women compared to men in developing countries

have a lower economic activity rate...

Women are less literate...

66%81% 56%84%

445388

work more minutes in a day...

2,1584,743

earn less... and spend more of their time on non-market work.

60%21%

W O M E N FA L L S H O R T I N S TA N D A R D M E A S U R E SO F VA LU E

In 25 countries like Madagascar, UNDP taps UNCDFsmicrofinance expertise to offer a better future to women.Rasoa Bertine started a business selling meals.

Through high technology, the world has come closertogether than ever before. People and capital circle theglobe, leaving in their wake an unprecedented culturalexchange, and challenging politicians with complexitiesrunning from security shortfalls to the spread of disease.At the same time, the world has moved farther apartover 120 countries have grown negligibly or becomepoorer in the last decade.

As stock markets in some countries have racked uphuge returns, debt burdens have ballooned in others. Insome of the poorer countries, debt servicing far outstripshealth and education expenditures, at a time whenrevenues have been hit by falling export earnings anddeclining aid flows, although the latter trend reversed in2002. Transitions to market economies have not alwaysbeen well-managed, while numerous constraints hamperties to the global marketplace. Universally, women remainpoorer than men. And even in countries making overallprogress, deep pockets of poverty keep certain groupslagging behind. In other places, slow economic growthbrews with civil conflict and HIV/AIDS, leaving millionson the margins of survival.

Technology, as the engine of globalization andeconomic growth, carries hope as a tool for development,especially as its costs fall. But the promise of technologyfrequently falls short due to limited access and inadequateinfrastructure. Computers dont run without electricity;the Internet requires a phone line.

UNDP RespondsNationally developed strategies to combat poverty, rootedin a countrys own assessment of its needs, serve as theplatform for sustainable human and economic develop-ment. UNDP advocates for these strategies, and helpsbolster them by incorporating the voices of women andthe poor, expanding the reach of assets and opportunities,and advising governments on structuring beneficialarrangements with international financial institutions. Inover 60 developing countries during 2002, we supportedthe preparation and implementation of Poverty Reduc-tion Strategy Papers, World Bank and IMF initiativesdesigned to help the poorest countries map out nationaldevelopment programmes. Our contributions includedthe sharing of experiences on how to better align theseefforts with the MDGs.

Across the board, we emphasize looking beyondincome poverty to the broader concept of human poverty.Money is not enough; equity, social inclusion, women'sempowerment and human rights matter too. These issues have been analyzed in depth by our internationallyrenowned Human Development Report; national andregional human development reports are increasinglyadopting this approach as well. To bring globalizationdown to the ground, so that it can work for everyone, wealso advocate for trade reform and investment arrange-ments that lift people out of poverty. In 2002, we workedwith foundations and other partners to stimulate debatethrough publications on issues such as world trade andglobal public goods.

Human and Economic Development: Priorities That Benefit the Poor

14Source: Human Development Report 2003

15

In the critical area of ICT, UNDP continuously looksfor ways to integrate technology in poverty reductionstrategies. By pulling together public and private partners,we create affordable programmes that suit individualcountries. During 2002, first in Malaysia and then inBolivia, we launched an innovative e-learning for life pro-gramme with the Coca-Cola Company. In the SolomonIslands, the People First Network received several awardsas a best practice. For the first time, people across 850 islands can communicate through a low-cost e-mailnetwork, gaining a world of opportunities for businessand education, and easing ethnic tensions through theexchange of information.

Madagascar: Credit for a FuturePoorer people often have no access to financial services,aside from usurious moneylenders, so helping them getcredit through other means is a cornerstone of UNDPspoverty reduction strategy in Madagascar. Here, as in 25 other countries, our MicroStart programme worksthrough the UN Capital Development Fund to open op-portunities for hardworking women like Voavonjy Tirisoa.Since 1999, she has transformed $21 and some handfulsof rice into a home and education for her childrendreams that would otherwise not have been possible.Little by little, she has proven her entrepreneurial acumenand taken larger loans, growing her livelihood as she goes.

More than 11,000 women like Mrs. Tirisoa have bene-fited from MicroStart in Madagascar, pulling themselvesout of poverty mainly through small trading businesses.UNDP works in close partnership with NGOs and finan-cial institutions with the experience to reach deep intorural areas. We ask women to band together to guaranteeeach others loansthe repayment rate is 95 percentand to learn not only how to manage projects, but also toimprove the health and education of their children.

These lessons are taken to heart. My childrens educa-tion is absolutely essential, says Mrs. Tirisoa. Its all I cangive them as a heritage.

Honduras: From Seed Funding, A Network Blooms Honduras, extremely poor, vulnerable to tropical stormsand undergoing a risky economic transition, has fewphone lines and even fewer Internet connections. Yet thepower of information technology is here. Seed moneyfrom UNDP has transformed the Sustainable Develop-ment Network of Honduras (RDS) into a powerfulinformation system for civil societyand the country at large. RDS began in 1994 with UNDP support and flourished after Hurricane Mitch decimated two millionhomes in 1998. NGOs flocked to the network, sending e-mail appeals that drew instant international assistance.

Until recently, RDS was the only server providing localaccess to the Internet. Today, with an ever-lengthening list of members from civil society, the government, theprivate sector and academic institutions, it remains anon-profit organization, committed to reaping the bene-fits of technology for development. E-mail lists distributeinformation on development to remote areas, and a Website hosts chat rooms on issues such as human rights andexternal debt.

UNDP now offers RDS mainly technical support, butwith its proven track record, the group has garnered fundsfrom other sources. The US Agency for InternationalDevelopment (USAID) has backed a project monitoringagriculture policies, and the Inter-American DevelopmentBank is collaborating on setting up rural technologycentres. Says RDS Manager Raquel Isaula Peralta, SinceMitch, IT is no longer a luxury. Its a necessity.

The United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF)provides small-scale investments, primarily in the leastdeveloped countries (LDCs).With UNDP, the Fund works onissues related to local governance and microfinance,helping countries reach the international commitmentsmade in the Programme of Action for the LDCs, as well asthe MDGs.

In local governance, UNCDF pilots small-scale, decen-tralized public investments with elected local governments.These leverage international, national and local resources,helping pave the way for replication on a larger scale.In microfinance, while UNCDFs own investments areconcentrated in the LDCs, the Funds Special Unit for Micro-finance offers technical support across UNDP. A recentreview conducted by the Consultative Group to Assist the

UNCDF: Small-scale Support for Large-scale Results

Poorest, a consortium of donor agencies supporting microfinance, applauded the excellent technical services ofthe internationally recognized, dedicated microfinance unitof UNCDF.

In 2002, UNCDF channeled $17.6 million through 55 projects in 28 LDCs. Despite recognition from its ExecutiveBoard of excellent programme results, however, the Fundstruggled with shortfalls in core resources. In September2002, the board endorsed a core resources mobilizationtarget of $30 million per year. Building on the achievementof nearly all the recommendations from a 1999 externalevaluation, UNCDF rededicated itself in 2003 to reachingthis goal.

16

D emocratic governments are now in more countriesthan at any point in history. Accompanying thistrend has been a move toward decentralization, whereresources shift into stronger local governments, andpeople have a greater say in making the decisions affectingtheir lives. In all regions, the unprecedented growth of civil society has brought more people than ever beforeinto the arena of public participation. At the same time,women remain vastly underrepresented in governments,accounting for only 11 percent of parliamentariansworldwide.

Many of the new democratic systems are struggling togrow in the midst of overwhelming development prob-lems. A crisis of capacity means the rule of law may notyet be entrenched enough to slow the longstanding drainof corruption. Vested interests may twist elections, whilelack of education strands large portions of the populationon the edge of democratic debate. Economic distressshakes states not strong or well-funded enough to bluntits impact.

Other countries face different challenges from authori-tarian regimes. Human rights abuses may flourishunquestioned, and the control of informationincludingby muzzling the pressrenders it difficult to identify orrespond to the full scope of development problems.Globalization, however, has given this issue a new dimen-sion, with people using technology to glimpse the worldbeyond their borders. Many are learning enough to question their own system, and to call either for greateralignment with much of the rest of the world, or for

a retreat into more narrowly defined traditional values. Sometimes their protest is peaceful; at other times violent.

UNDP RespondsWith it increasingly clear that well-governed nationsstand a better chance of reaching their human develop-ment goals, and at the request of programme countries,UNDP now directs the bulk of its programme resourcesinto achieving results in democratic governance. We helpcountries promote political participation and becomemore responsive and accountable to ordinary citizens,especially the poor. Through brokering national andinternational partnerships and sharing knowledge, weassist nations intent on building stronger legislativesystems; educating voters; delivering better public admin-istration; improving access to justice; and strengtheningmunicipalities in delivering basic services to those whoneed them most. In every arena, we advocate for humanrights and womens empowerment.

Present in 166 countries, UNDP supports the largestnetwork of experts working on democratic governance in the world. During 2002, our activities included publicradio debates in Niger on a draft decentralization bill.The broadcasts reached a million people and encouragedparliamentarians to modify and pass the bill into law. InLesotho, we engineered a historic meeting of party leadersto underscore commitment to a fair election, which thentook place peacefully after four years of unrest and mili-tary intervention. In Nicaragua, we supported the

CO U N T R I E S H O L D I N G E L E C T I O N S S I N C E 2 0 0 0

The number and frequency of elections is on the rise in every region.

Nation Building: A Foundation in Democratic Governance

Source: Election World

17

National Judicial Commission. Appointed by thePresident, it draws upon the expertise of jurists, academ-ics, civil society activists and business people to developconstitutional amendments and new laws that are reviv-ing trust in the justice system.

We also began assessing how to assist the forms of openmedia and free public debate that underpin successfuldemocracies, and established a global knowledge networkon local governance and decentralization. With a risinginternational interest in democratic governance, our OsloGovernance Centre opened to collect and share researchon good governance as a means to reduce poverty. It willwork with a wide spectrum of partners, including govern-ments, political parties and NGOs, on questions related toaccess to justice, civil society, human rights and conflictprevention.

Timor-Leste: Reliable Justice, Lawyer by LawyerWhen the people of Timor-Leste chose independencefrom Indonesia in 1999, it was nearly the end of theirjudicial system. All court houses and justice buildingswere destroyed in the violence that erupted, and thedeparture of 7,000 Indonesian civil servants and profes-sionals left only about 100 lawyers in Timor-Leste, almostnone of whom had professional experience. Under theoccupation, East Timorese could study law, but were notconsidered for most judicial posts. There was only oneprivate lawyer before 1999.

Today, as Timor-Leste slowly rebuilds, its criminal courtprocedures are based upon those developed by the UNTransitional Administration. But a reliably free and fairsystem will depend on capable people. So UNDP, as partof an overall strategy to rebuild institutions and establishdemocratic processes, has created a mentoring programmethat pairs local lawyers with experienced prosecutors,judges, public defenders and court clerks from outsideTimor-Leste. The international experts offer many formsof advice, from interpreting contract law to preparing aclosing argument. They serve as a resource to fall back onas the East Timorese make their own decisions on whatworks best for their country.

The stakes are highin addition to ordinary infrac-tions, the judicial system must grapple with violent crimescommitted during the struggle for independence. Still,Vice Minister for Justice Domingos Sarmento reflects thatthe East Timorese have fought hard to have justice andfreedom. We hope that, as a people gaining experience,we will be able to build a fully functioning and fair judi-cial system, he says. It is already happening; we havecome a very long way since 1999.

Sierra Leone: An Orderly Vote, A Chance for PeaceSierra Leone has been torn apart by civil conflict for overa decade. Last year, it landed at the very bottom of 162countries surveyed by UNDPs human development

index. So people held their breath in May 2002, whennational elections took place. Would previously warringfactions accept the results? Fortunately, as PresidentAhmed Tejan Kabbah swept through the polls with a widemargin, defeated candidates stepped forward and will-ingly conceded. The peace heldas did hopes for thefuture.

UNDP helped lay the groundwork for this major steptoward a stable democracy by joining with other partnersto strengthen institutions in Sierra Leone, including theNational Consultative Conference, which charted the roadto the elections, and the National Electoral Commission,which organized them. Civic education programmesencouraged debate and distributed information about theissues at stake.

Collaborative projects with the US-based NationalDemocratic Institute and the UKs WestminsterFoundation for Democracy trained and deployed 2,000election observers and political party representatives. Incooperation with the Organization of African Unity (nowthe African Union) and the Economic Community ofWest African States, UNDP provided funding and assis-tance for the deployment of 40 election observers.

Today, UNDP has turned to post-conflict recovery,connecting ex-combatants with job opportunities, recon-structing smashed infrastructure, and restoring civilauthority in areas previously held by rebel forces. Whileaddressing the consequences of the war, we are assistingSierra Leone with the root causes as wellpervasivepoverty, economic inequality and poor governance.

As Timor-Leste recovered from conflict and faced its limitedlegal capacity, UNDP brought in lawyers such as Rui Pinto,who serves as a mentor on contract law.

18

A ffordable energy and water services are a prerequisitefor halving the proportion of people living on lessthan a dollar a day by 2015, as called for in the MDGs. Yetthese services elude the grasp of the impoverished. While800 million people have plugged into power grids indeveloping countries over the last 20 years, two billionpeople still burn wood, dung and agricultural byproductsto heat their homes and cook their food. Shortages ofwaterabout two billion people go without cleansupplies and struggle with inadequate sanitationhaveescalated dramatically.

Lack of energy services severs people from some of thebenefits of the modern world. There is no refrigeration topreserve food, no hope of using technology for distanceeducation. Lack of water and sanitation spawns death andotherwise preventable diseases, which burden healthsystems and curtail economic productivity.

The environment also feels the impact of skewed devel-opment patterns, which include the highly unequalconsumption rates between North and South. Poor watermanagement contributes to natural disasters and soilerosion, while inefficient energy systems spew air pollu-tion, acidify soil and water, and emit greenhouse gasesthat have perilously thinned the ozone layer. Other worri-some trends include disruptive changes in climate, thedestruction of aquatic ecosystems, and the rapid disap-pearance of speciesa tearing of the rich diversity of lifeon earth.

UNDP RespondsReducing poverty and achieving sustainable developmentrest upon a careful balance of concerns: consumption andprotection of resources in ways that sustain both peopleand the world they live in. With extensive experience inintegrated development solutions, UNDP assists countriesin striking this balance. We circulate best practices fromour wide network, provide innovative policy advice, andrally partners to find methods and financing for bringingsustainable livelihoods to poor communities.

Progress toward sustainable development comesthrough improved access to energy services for the poor,equitable management of water and land, sustainable useof biodiversity and measures to address climate changeso these form the core of our work on energy and theenvironment. The 2002 World Summit on SustainableDevelopment reaffirmed these priorities. In the monthsleading up to it, UNDP made major contributions toglobal debates on water, energy, health, agriculture andbiodiversitypriorities set by the Secretary-General thatshaped the Summits final agreement. Governments inturn called upon UNDP, through the Capacity 2015programme, to strengthen local capacities for sustainabledevelopment, an important component in reaching theMDGs. Before the Summit, we also launched the EquatorInitiative with seven other institutional partners. Throughgrants, a prestigious award and the exchange of practicalexperiences, the initiative will foster poverty reductionalong the equatorial belt through the conservation andsustainable use of biodiversity.

Since modern energy services yield better livelihoodsand spur more equitable economic growth, UNDP paysparticular attention to ensuring this access. In 2002, withmembers of the donor community and private sector,we established the Global Village Energy Partnership toprovide energy services in rural areas. We took on waterissues in 90 countries, emphasizing that water crises canoften be traced to bad governance. In Argentina, thePublic-Private Partnerships for the Urban Environmentproject worked with community organizations, muni-cipalities, the Water Regulatory Board and a privatecompany to set up a new collaborative model for deliv-ering water and sanitation to poor communities.

With the European Commission, we brought togetherpractitioners, policymakers and researchers to identifyconcrete policy recommendations and practical measuresfor responding to the environmental concerns of develop-ing countries. In Nairobi, our Drylands DevelopmentCentre helped 16 African and Arab states determine howto reduce vulnerability to climatic shocks and improvenatural resources management.

W H E N S A N I TAT I O N I M P R OV E S ,C H I L D R E N L I V E LO N G E R

People and Our Planet: The Road to Sustainable Development

% population whosewastewater is treated

% population whosesolid waste is disposed in sanitary landfill orincinerated

under-five mortality,number of deaths per1,000 children

less than $750 $751-2,499 $2,5009,999 more than $10,000

CITIES BY PER CAPITA INCOME

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

Source: World Development Report 2003, World Bank

19

Nepal: Partnerships for Energy Usher in ProsperityWith 6,000 streams and rivers, Nepal has rich resources ofwater that could be harnessed for power. But a lack offunding and difficult mountainous terrain, along withperiodic disruptions from a guerrilla movement, makethis a distant dream in isolated villages. Over 90 percentof the people in rural areas still depend on wood oranimal waste for energy.

So UNDP has brought together communities todevelop local alternatives under the Rural EnergyDevelopment Programme, starting with the establishmentof 93 water wheels across 15 districts. Built with fundingfrom local people, the central government and UNDP,and managed by community organizations, the wheelsnow provide more than 11,000 households with electric-ity. UNDP has backed the project with training to helpdistrict committees implement rural energy policies andprogrammes.

For many villagers, electricity has meant that time oncespent collecting fuel can now be used to expand theirhousehold income, whether through tending livestock orrunning small businesses. Padma Devi Khadka points outthat a previously unimagined prosperity has come to hervillage of Duni, in far western Nepal. The energy haschanged our life, she says.

Project partners agree on its success. Nepal has incor-porated the approach in its tenth five-year plan, and in2002 the programme expanded into 25 districts as a jointinitiative between the central government, UNDP and theWorld Bank.

Macedonia: Jobs for a Green Environment Fallout from conflict, through the crisis in neighbouringKosovo and the ensuing influx of refugees, has worndown the economy and the environment in Macedonia.Unemployment has been high, random dumpsites havelittered public lands, and rusting car parts have adornedthe river banks. In the city of Tetovo, the populationdoubled almost overnight from the stream of refugees,which seriously strained water and sanitation services.

UNDP, working with local government authorities,devised a programme to help solve these problems. Cleanand Green Macedonia recruited unemployed workers toclean up waste in municipalities that needed these serv-ices most. An added benefit: with over 100 cities soonparticipating and through a blitz of media coverage, citi-zens across the country learned about the advantages ofcaring for the environment. Based on this initial success,other donors stepped forward to expand the programmeto include all Macedonian municipalities.

Today, Clean and Green has eased the economic strainson thousands of families. Local governments have alsobenefited, most recently through a grant programme forinfrastructure improvements and youth employment thatresulted from a UNDP partnership with USAID. AndUNDP, through its global network, has successfully repli-cated the project in Albania.

UNDP encouraged me to think far more about thecleaning of my municipality, says Stefche Jakimovski, themayor of the town of Karposh, Now we have 40 peoplewho are employed continuously, and regular truck servicefor hauling waste.

Arab States

Central & Eastern Europe & CIS

Latin America & Caribbean

Sub-Saharan Africa

OECD

South Asia

East Asia & Pacific

18.6%

49.6%

H I G H I N CO M E CO U N T R I E S P R O D U C E M O S T O FT H E W O R L D S CO 2 E M I S S I O N S

% worldpopulation

% world CO2 emissions

Source: Human Development Report 2002

UNDP and local governments in Macedonia solve twoproblems with one programme, cleaning cities and creatingjobs. Here workers pull a rusty car from a river.

Tserayi Machinda is at the centre of the HIV/AIDS epidemicin his native Zimbabwe.The UN volunteer works with theNational AIDS Council to combat the disease throughoutManicaland, a province with more than 100,000 orphans and15,000 known cases of AIDS.We have 4,000 Zimbabweansdying of AIDS each week, he says.

Tserayi fights the spread of HIV/AIDS with drama produc-tions and workshops on safe sex, enlisting the help of villagechiefs to urge people to change their behaviour. He belongsto a global corps of UN volunteers working with communitiesin Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and Latin America. As counsel-lors, they offer home care and help set up self-help groups forpeople living with HIV/AIDS.They advise on national actionplans and assist HIV-positive people in earning a living.

Through these efforts and many more, the United NationsVolunteers (UNV), administered by UNDP, provides a humanface and voice to the epidemic. Building on three decades ofexperience and the contributions of over 30,000 volunteers,UNV is also responding to increasing demand from govern-ments and UN partners to provide professional expertise tooffset the devastating loss of skilled workers due to HIV/AIDS.

Encouraging local volunteering for development, UNVsupports over 20 UN organizations in areas as diverse ashumanitarian relief, the promotion of human rights, electoralsupervision, peacebuilding and poverty reduction. In 2002,UNV mobilized 5,234 volunteers, representing 158 nationali-ties, who served in 139 countries.

UNV: The Human Face of an Epidemic

Infectious diseases such as malaria and tuberculosisburden people around the world, lowering productivityand weighing down already underdeveloped health caresystems. Yet even as there has been an ongoing reluctanceto invest in solutions to these illnesses, which mainlyaffect the poor, a new and more devastating epidemic hascome along. HIV/AIDS has swept a destructive paththrough sub-Saharan Africa, and crept, often silently, intosome portion of populations in every country of theworld. Forty-two million people live with HIV/AIDS, andthe number will surpass 100 million within a decadeunless a massive response begins immediately.

In a growing number of countries, HIV/AIDS is a catas-trophe for economic stability. Income is lost, health carecosts explode, savings turn into debt and children dropout of school. Governments face stripped-down ranks ofessential personnel: doctors, teachers, civil servants. Whenmillions of farmers die, famine follows. Behind the scenes,women bear the brunt of the burden in their multipleroles as caretakers, subsistence farmers and breadwinners,and as people who, facing violence and discrimination,stand less of a chance of protecting themselves.

HIV/AIDS may be the worlds most serious develop-ment crisis. Without progress in fighting it, prospects dimgreatly for achieving any of the MDGs.

UNDP RespondsBecause HIV/AIDS is a factor in so many developmentconcerns, UNDP works with countries to integrateresponses to the epidemic across national planning andbudgets, including poverty reduction strategies, and movebeyond the narrow confines of HIV/AIDS as a publichealth intervention. We urge dynamic leadership from allcorners, including civil society and the private sector,

while recognizing that community initiatives are amongthe most effective in offering prevention, care and socialsupport. In the worst affected countries, where social andhealth infrastructures are crumbling in the face of illnessand death, UNDP helps to stem further declines, providehuman resources where necessary and devise strategies tocope with the loss of skilled workers.

All of our activities are imbued with the principles ofhuman rights and gender equality, emphasizing thatpeople with HIV/AIDS should play an active role in theirsocieties, without stigma. We support communicationsstrategies that relay messages of hope, and advocate forlegislation against discrimination as well as leadershiproles for people living with HIV/AIDS.

UNDP is also well placed to assist governments inattracting growing flows of international funding torespond to the epidemic. Since it was launched in 2001,the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malariahas become a major source of new financing. We work inclose partnership with the Fund, which is distributing$1.5 billion in 2003 and 2004, 60 percent of it forHIV/AIDS. UNDP itself has launched an acceleratedapproach to the epidemic in the hardest-hit countries. InBotswana, where a 15-year-old boy now has a 90 percentchance of dying from AIDS, we are assisting the govern-ment and other development partners in drawing up afive-year national strategy to cope with severe social andeconomic fallout. In Eastern Europe and the Common-wealth of Independent States, where infection rates areclimbing most rapidly, we have put sports stars andpeople with HIV/AIDS at the forefront of massive publicinformation campaigns.

HIV/AIDS: Coping with Loss, Advocating for Hope

20

The Arab Region: People Break the Silence All Arab countries have reported increases in HIV/AIDSprevalence rates, with the number of people in the regionliving with HIV/AIDS now surpassing 500,000. Instabilityand high migration rates fan the epidemics spread. Yetsocial stigma has prohibited nearly any form of publicdiscussion. UNDP, collaborating with government offi-cials, NGOs, people living with HIV/AIDS and culturalcelebrities, decided it was time to break the silence.

Starting in September 2002, UNDP offices across theregion, coordinated by our Regional Bureau for ArabStates, have held events in different countries to encour-age initiatives in response to HIV/AIDS. In Yemen,national HIV/AIDS programme managers from 17 coun-tries agreed to work on partnerships and policies thatunderscore links between the epidemic and the full spec-trum of development issues. In Tunisia, civil societyorganizations from 14 countries created the Network ofArab Civil Society Organizations to coordinate preven-tion efforts. In Egypt, top entertainment stars affirmedtheir role as ambassadors in fighting HIV/AIDS, includingthe Egyptian singer Hakim, who declared he would regu-larly speak about it in his concerts.

Together, these and other initiatives now form acomprehensive regional campaign that is marshallingmedia coverage, targeting discrimination, supportingemerging leaders, and mobilizing action across govern-ments, NGOs and civil society. As one workshopparticipant in Tunisia concludes, If we can speak with aunifying voice, we will be much stronger and more effec-tive advocates for our cause.

Cambodia: Building Capacity Through Conversation While the HIV/AIDS prevalence rate has dropped slightlyin Cambodia, thanks to concerted efforts by the govern-ment and the international community, it remains thehighest in Asia. Among people aged 15 to 49, about 2.6percent now carry the virusseveral hundred thousandCambodians could develop AIDS in the coming years.

A team of UN agencies is backing Cambodias actionsto combat the epidemic, with UNDP helping to coordi-nate aid, set up advocacy programmes and train newleaders. Since HIV/AIDS is much more than a publichealth issue, touching all aspects of a countrys develop-ment, we have built strong links with governmentpartners across every ministry. Our LeadershipDevelopment Programme has spearheaded campaignsthat have brought in central authorities, local leaders,NGOs and Buddhist monks. As people with deep roots intheir communities, they can ease social taboos and spreadprevention messages, while urging dignified treatment ofpeople with HIV/AIDS.

In 2003, drawing on a highly successful UNDP projectin Ethiopia and experiences in Senegal, we began assistinglocal authorities in seven provinces to hold communityconversations. In exploring their concerns together, localpeople develop plans for a local response. And to createan atmosphere of openness about HIV/AIDS across thenation, a television and radio ad campaign is about to goto air. Ordinary people will spread the word: I too feelthat I have difficulties in discussing this issue, but I mustfind the courage to do it. The change begins with me.

21

A person gets HIV

A skyrocketing number of people contract HIV

Some impacts include:

Family members are infected, fall sick, dieHousehold income declinesWomen bear the brunt of caregivingChildren drop out of school, are orphaned

CommunityInfection spreads, people susceptible to other illnessesBusinesses suffer loss of skilled employeesFood production drops as farmers dieSchools and hospitals close as teachers and doctors dieSocial stigma hardens into overt discrimination, violence

NationPublic health systems are overwhelmedGovernment workers dieGDP plunges; less money for services, anti-retroviral drugsTaboos stall preventionPoverty, hunger increase; literacy, productivity dropGrowing instability fans conflicts, migration

as this happens in multiple house- holds

as this happens in multiple commu-nities

H I V / A I D S E X T R AC T S A H E AV Y TO L L

Source: Human Development Report 2002, UN and UNDP

22

Total UNDP resource continued to grow in 2002,reaching $2.83 billion, their highest level ever. Allsources of funds increased, with third-party co-financingthe strongest segment. At $670 million, regular resourcesrose for the second consecutive year, following the 2001turnaround, when they began an upward climb afterseven years of steady decline. A number of programmecountries have consistently made pledges to regularresources of $1 million or above. However, while theturnaround continues, UNDPs resource situationremains critical, and the growth in core resources lagsbelow what is required.

UNDP ha