"In the final analysis, human security is a child who did not die, a disease that did not spread, a job that was not cut, an ethnic tension that did not explode in violence, a dissident who was not silenced. Human security is not a concern with weapons--it is a concern with human life and dignity."--Human Development Report 1994
"Human development...brings together the production and distribution of commodities and the expansion and use of human capabilities. It also focuses on choices--on what people should have, be, and do to be able to ensure their own livelihood. Human development is, moreover, concerned not only with basic needs satisfaction but also with human development as a participatory and dynamic process. It applies equally to less developed and highly developed countries."--Human Development Report 1990
"...Human development--our defining mandate--is not only about helping to ensure a decent income level and standard of living for everyone, but also about helping to ensure that every person has the capacity, right, freedom, and choice to take and be part of the decisions that affect a person's life, to select the leaders who make those decisions, and to then hold them to account."--UNDP Associate Administrator Rebeca Grynspan’s remarks on World Democracy Day, 2010.
"Human development focuses on individual and group empowerment, on human rights, structural safeguards, [and] common humanity, to live a life of freedom and dignity. They give all people moral claims on the behavior of individuals and on the design of social arrangements--and are universal, inalienable and indivisible."--Human Development Report 2000
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General Assembly confirms new four-year term for Helen Clark as UNDP Administrator
(Photo: UNDP)
New York, 13 April 2013—The United Nations General Assembly confirmed this morning the appointment by the Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, of Helen Clark as Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for a further four-year term.
Helen Clark began her duties as Administrator of UNDP in April 2009. She is the first woman to lead the UN's global development network, and is also the Chair of the UN Development Group.
“It has been an honour and a privilege for me to serve as UNDP Administrator for the past four years. I thank the Member States of the United Nations General Assembly and the Secretary-General for their confidence in me to lead the organization for another term,” Helen Clark said.
Mark the 1,000 day countdown for the Millennium Development Goals!
On 5 April 2013, UNDP marks the milestone of 1,000 days to achieve the eight anti-poverty MDGs by participating in a 1,000-minute long digital rally. From April 5-12, UNDP country offices are also taking part in events to highlight MDG achievements and challenges and inspire further action.
Want to help us achieve the Millennium Development Goals before the target date in 2015? Here are some ways to get involved
Development Aid Is Investment In Secure Future, Helen Clark Says
(Photo: UN)
CALGARY, Canada, 5 Mar. 2013—Development aid amounts to an investment in a more secure future for developed countries, which reap enormous benefits from better-fed, better-led emerging trade partners, UN Development Program (UNDP) Administrator Helen Clark said here Tuesday.
Aid from developed countries makes up a relatively small share of resources invested in development, she said, citing flows from trade, foreign direct investment, remittances from migrant workers, and domestic funding.
In Mali, UNDP Will Focus on Governance, Early Recovery, Administrator Says Helen Clark sees West African country’s crisis as ‘increasingly typical'
Oxford, England, 11 Feb 2013—Long-term peace in Mali will require major investment in governance, along with humanitarian and early recovery support for the crisis-stricken West African country, UN Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator Helen Clark said Monday.
“UNDP will focus on peace consolidation, building the capacities of transitional institutions and supporting for disaster risk reduction and community resilience,” she said. “We will support the process leading to the next elections and prepare a development programme for the country’s North.”
“UNDP will focus its interventions in Mali on peace consolidation, building the capacities of transitional institutions, and assistance for disaster risk reduction and community resilience,” she said in a lecture at the Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law, and Armed Conflict at Merton College. “We will support the processes leading to the next elections and the preparation of a development programme for the north of the country.”
UNDP Chief Urges Swift Measures Against Non-Communicable Diseases Helen Clark says MDGs show need for clear, time-bound targets
(Photo: UN)
London,11 Feb. 2013—UN Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator Helen Clark called Monday for swift, firm measures to halt a global surge in diseases such as cancer and diabetes, saying they belong “permanently on the global development agenda.”
“Failure to curb the growing epidemic of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) now will lead to a significant toll on human life and well-being, and great strain on health systems and family and public budgets,” she said, speaking at the launch of a new series on NCDs by UK medical journal The Lancet.
“By placing NCDs permanently on the global development agenda, people’s lives, opportunities, and future prospects will improve—advancing sustainable human development overall,” she said, adding that the global response to HIV/AIDS suggests early intervention can decisively alter the trajectory of an epidemic.
UNDP chief calls for broad research, innovative partnerships to achieve health, development goals ‘Better health is a gateway to development progress,’ Helen Clark tells Harvard School of Public Health
Boston, Massachusetts, 31 Jan 2013—UN Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator Helen Clark called Thursday for more broad, innovative research and partnerships to achieve health goals worldwide, noting that health is a key element and indicator in all areas of development.
“Development and health practitioners share the same goals of tackling inequality and improving the well-being of individuals and communities, yet they often lack the common language or approaches to find solutions together. This gap is artificial, to be bridged through dialogue and inter-institutional partnerships,” she said in a speech at the Harvard School of Public Health.
The full text of Helen Clark's speech can be viewed here.
Washington, 24 Jan 2013—The UN Development Program (UNDP) Washington Representation Office this week welcomes Jérome Sauvage as its new Deputy Director. He has served UNDP for decades and brings with him vast experience in Asia, Africa, programming, and field operations.
Jérome served UNDP as a Young Professional in Vietnam from 1983-85, when the country embarked on its successful economic reform program. Subsequent UNDP postings took him and his family to Madagascar, Cambodia, India, and Pakistan, and twice to UNDP Headquarters in New York. He served most recently as UN Resident Coordinator in Pyongyang from 2009-2013.
“I am delighted to return to the United States, which has been a critical development partner for many years, and I look forward to learning more about US development goals and priorities,” he said. “I am pleased to be able to share my experiences and observations from working in development over many years of transformative change.”
Jérome was educated in law at the Sorbonne in Paris and in international affairs at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington.
His areas of expertise include aid coordination, democratic governance, disaster risk reduction and recovery, poverty reduction, and change management. A French national, Jérome is married to Carolyn Sauvage-Mar, a US national and also a graduate of SAIS.
UNDP Washington photo exhibit
Rebuilding Hope After Pakistan’s Floods
Photographs of UN Development Program (UNDP) recovery work by Satomi Kato
Photos on display Feb. 4-15 at The National Press Club
A former television anchor and radio broadcaster in Japan, Satomi Kato documented UNDP's work throughout Pakistan in 2010-2011, including areas hit hardest by catastrophic flooding that killed and displaced thousands of people. These were previously exhibited in New York, Milan, and Tokyo. Kato previously traveled to remote areas of Peshawar, Pakistan, near the Afghan border, to photograph Afghan refugee children in 2005. Those images were exhibited at UN Headquarters in New York and at the National Press Club in Washington in 2006.
Arab world needs broad governance reform, UNDP expert says
(Photo: UNDP)
Washington, 7 Dec. 2012—High unemployment and inequality fuelled Arab Spring uprisings that began in 2010 and overturned four governments, but the Arab world needs broad governance reform to achieve sustainable, equitable growth, a UNDP poverty expert said.
“Clearly the problem is not simply one of political transition--getting rid of a dictator doesn’t solve all the problems,” Mohammad Pournik, Poverty Practice Team Leader at UNDP’s Regional Center in Cairo, said at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington. “People want bread, but they also want social justice and freedom.”
The panel, hosted by Daniel Runde, Director of the CSIS Project on Prosperity & Development, included Andy Baukol, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Treasury for the Middle East & Africa, and Lionel Johnson, Vice President for Turkey, Middle East & North Africa Affairs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Public, Private Financing, Better Policies Can Save Global Oceans, Report Says As little as US$5 billion in public funds could catalyse action, financial flows to reverse ocean degradation
Washington, 14 Dec 2012—Immediate, concrete steps can still mitigate grave and worsening threats to the world’s oceans, with public funds and better policies catalyzing private investment and creating new industries, according to a report released today by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and Global Environment Facility (GEF).
“It is very reassuring to learn… that an initial public investment on the order of US$5 billion over the next 10 to 20 years could be sufficient to catalyze many hundreds of billions of dollars in public and private finance,” GEF CEO Dr. Naoko Ishii told a panel launching the report here.
“We now have the right tools to identify and remove those market and policy failures that have unfortunately sped up the degradation of marine environments. Our goal is to help both the public and private sectors create clear incentives and policies that will serve to protect the world’s oceans.”
The world's oceans provide trillions of dollars in goods and services every year, and healthy oceans are crucial to sustainable development. But many ocean ecosystems are in steep decline because of pollution, overexploitation, habitat loss, invasive species, and climate change--and without concerted near-term effort, the damage may become irreversible. Drawing on 20 years of research and experience, Catalysing Ocean Finance demonstrates in two volumes how a modest investment of public finance--on the order of $5 billion over the next 10-20 years--can scale up proven ocean planning and policy tools, leverage financial flows, transform ocean markets, and reverse the global decline in ocean health. Catalysing Ocean Finance demonstrates that, far from being an intractable problem, sustainable ocean management could become a successful legacy of today’s decision-makers.
Opening Remarks: Dr. Naoko Ishii, Chief Executive Officer, Global Environment Facility
Presentation of Catalysing Ocean Finance: Dr. Andrew Hudson, Head, Water & Ocean Governance Programme, United Nations Development Programme & Coordinator, UN-Oceans
Dr. Kenneth Sherman, US NOAA National Marine Fisheries Laboratory, Narragansett, RI Mr. Ivan Zavadsky, Senior Water Resources Management Specialist, GEF and former Chief Technical Advisor, GEF-UNDP Danube/Black Sea Nutrient Reduction Programme Dr. Biliana Cicin-Sain, President, Global Ocean Forum (international NGO) Mr. Fredrik Haag, International Maritime Organization (IMO) and former Chief Technical Advisor, GEF-UNDP-IMO GloBallast Partnerships
Closing Remarks: Dr. Yannick Glemarec, Executive Coordinator, United Nations Development Program (UNDP)- Global Environment Facility (GEF) Dr. Gustavo Fonseca, Head, Natural Resources, Global Environment Facility
Light refreshments provided.
Contact: UNDP Washington Representation Office +1 202 331 9130
Democratic transitions in Arab world require strong legal foundations, says UNDP Chief
Doha, 6 Dec. 2012—Stability and inclusive growth in the Arab states region will require stronger systems of justice, security, and rule of law, especially in countries now transitioning to democracy, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator Helen Clark said here today.
“Where societies are emerging from conflict, or social and political upheaval, strengthening the rule of law is particularly important for making a transition to a more peaceful and cohesive future,” she said in remarks at Qatar University.
“Important and often highly contested political, economic, and social processes are under way across the region, in countries pursuing rapid transitions after the downfalls of regimes, and in others pursuing a more gradual pace of reform,” she said, referring to regional unrest that began in Tunisia in 2010 and became known as the Arab Spring. this version
UNDP Opens Data for Over 6,000 Projects in Transparency Drive
New York, 29 Nov 2012—The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) today launched a new online portal allowing open, comprehensive public access to data on UNDP’s work in 177 countries and territories, fulfilling a commitment to full transparency by 2013 above and beyond international standards
“Transparency is a top priority for UNDP and a vital element in maintaining the trust vested in us by the public and our partners. This online portal enables the public to track aid and helps our partners manage their resources more effectively,” UNDP Administrator Helen Clark said.
The new portal, open.undp.org, comprises comprehensive programmatic information—from income and expenditures to activities and results—on more than 6,000 active UNDP projects, as well as those that closed financially in 2011, along with more than 8,000 outputs or results.
Andy Baukol, Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Middle East and Africa, U.S. Department of the Treasury Mohammad Pournik, Poverty Practice Team Leader, UNDP Regional Center, Cairo Lionel Johnson, Vice President for Turkey, Middle East & North Africa Affairs, US Chamber of Commerce
Moderator
Daniel F. Runde, William A. Schreyer Chair and Director, Project on Prosperity & Development, CSIS
The Arab region stands at an historic juncture. Entrenched autocracies have fallen in a number of countries, but poverty, joblessness, and barriers to investment and growth remain high. Volatile, oil-led growth has resulted in weak structural foundations, and this volatility, combined with lack of a long-term vision to mitigate its impact, has adversely affected long-term investment. With emerging democracies still fragile and expectations high, old elites risk being replaced by new elites even as growth stalls and job creation slows further.
Join us for a discussion of economic challenges in the region and how international partners—government, multilaterals, civil society, and the private sector—can encourage investment, inclusive growth, and good governance.
CSIS Center for Strategic and International Studies
1800 K Street, NW, Fourth Floor, Washington, DC 20006
Global Challenges Require Updated Global Institutions, UNDP Chief Says
Wellington, 13 Nov. 2012—Global challenges such as pandemics, refugees flows, transnational crime, and climate change demand updated global institutions fit for the 21st Century, UN Development Program (UNDP) Administrator Helen Clark said Tuesday.
“We live in an era of unprecedented globalization and interdependence, in which global public goods cannot be secured and protected by any single nation, and emerging threats and challenges require coordinated responses,” she told Victoria University’s Institute for Governance & Policy Studies here.
UNDP is acutely aware of how crises generated in developed countries quickly spread, she said, “affecting the poorest and most distant nations, which saw weaker demand and lower prices for their exports, higher volatility in capital flows and commodity prices, and lower remittances. Greater global financial stability is unlikely without more coordination of financial regulation and oversight.”
UNDP joins global Climate and Clean Air Coalition with call for urgent action to avert catastrophic impacts
San Francisco, 18 Nov 2012—Climate change threatens to undermine hard-won human development gains and the longer the world waits to act the more costly the damages and solutions will become, UN Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator Helen Clark said today.
Speaking at Stanford University in California, Helen Clark warned that without more coordinated global action to tackle climate change it will be increasingly hard to reduce poverty in all its dimensions and the costs of adaptation will also rise steeply everywhere.
“UNDP recognizes that the world’s 2.6 billion poorest people will be hardest hit by climate change and that its impacts could reverse decades of human development gains unless pre-emptive action is taken,” Miss Clark said.
“Why Tackling Climate Change Matters for Development”
Lecture by Helen Clark, UNDP Administrator and UNDG Chair
Co-organized by the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment & the Stanford Program in Human Biology
Stanford, California, USA
Thursday, 8 Nov. 2012, 12:15pm
Progress towards a new global climate agreement has been painfully slow.
In my lecture today, I will talk about key issues at stake in the negotiations, and why concerted international action to tackle global warming matters so much to poor people and poor countries on the front lines of climate change.
My hypothesis is that unless there is more co-ordinated global action to tackle climate change soon, it will be increasingly hard to reduce poverty, in all its dimensions, particularly in the world’s poorest countries. The costs of adaptation will also rise steeply everywhere.
Remarks by Olav Kjørven, Assistant Secretary General & Director of the Bureau for Development Policy, United Nations Development Program (UNDP)
The Political Economy of Transition: Analysis for Change
UNDP-NOREF Conference, Oslo, Norway, 8-9 Nov. 2012
State Secretary Larsen, Minister Kan Zaw, Mr. Aguirre, Heba, distinguished participants, and colleagues.
It is my great pleasure to welcome you to my home country of Norway for this unique forum on the Political Economy of Transitions, jointly organized by UNDP and the Norwegian Peacebuilding Center.
UNDP is very pleased to count the Norwegian Government and NOREF as our close partners, and we look forward to deepening our collaborative efforts.
Over the past year, we have seen political transformations in places where, only a few years ago, change would have been hard to imagine.
It took 29 years for Alfredo to find out the truth about who he really is. The 31-year-old, originally from Guatemala, now lives in the US. He always thought that his name was Oscar, and that Lieutenant Oscar Ovidio Ramírez Ramos, the father he loved, was a military hero in his native country. But thanks in-part to a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) initiative that is helping to shed light on the violence of the former regime and providing reparations to its victims, Alfredo has learned the harrowing truth. More
Like thousands of other women in DRC, Gisèle is a survivor of the sexual violence that has become commonplace during the country’s long-running civil conflict. The Heal Africa Hospital based in Goma recently reported that an estimated 5,000 women were raped in one province this year alone.
A United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) project in the Kivus and Ituri Districts, part of a broader Access to Justice Programme in DRC, is hoping to change all that by restoring trust in the justice system; providing better access to justice, safety and security for victims of sexual violence; training police to investigate and the judiciary to prosecute those responsible; raising awareness about rights; and documenting the many crimes committed. More
New York—Prosecution of those charged in connection with massive post-election violence in Côte d’Ivoire could start by the end of this year, Minister of Justice Loma Matto Cissé said today, adding that wide-ranging legal reforms are under way.
“We have set up a special agency comprising public prosecutors, investigating judges, and police—this agency is charged with investigating crimes committed after the [2010] elections so those who ordered and carried out these crimes will be judged under the law,” she told a panel at the International Peace Institute focused on the rule of law in Côte d’Ivoire and the Democratic Republic of the Congo .“The judges will have total independence. If they maintain their current momentum, the first trials will take place before the end of the year.”More
Myanmar opposition leader meets UNDP, UNICEF officials
New York, 26 Sept 2012—Alongside the 67th United Nations General Assembly, UNDP and UNICEF officials met with Myanmar opposition leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
UNDP has been implementing its Human Development Initiative in Myanmar townships since 1994, providing support to poor communities in areas of food security, primary health care, environment, HIV/AIDS, and training and education.
UNDP is now beginning to scale up work in Myanmar in response to the country's political reconciliation and transition, focusing on democratic governance and rule of law, community development, climate change, and disaster risk reduction.
From left: UNDP Assistant Secretary-General for Asia and Pacific Ajay Chhibber, UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Johanna Yoka Brandt, Aung San Suu Kyi, UNDP Administrator Helen Clark, and UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Geeta Rao Gupta (photo: Paulo Filgueras)
UNDP has unique role to play in fighting non-communicable diseases
18 Oct 2012—A year after the first UN High-Level Meeting on Non-Communicable Diseases, The Washington Post this week convened an expert panel to review what progress has occurred and what work remains to fight diseases such as cancer, diabetes, stroke, and depression.
A small invited audience on site and much larger audience online heard alarming statistics. Among them: One-third of humanity is projected to suffer from diabetes by the year 2050, according to the US Centers for Disease Control.
Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are leading causes of death and illness in developed and emerging economies alike—they account for the majority of health-care needs and spending and contribute to some 36 million, or 63 per cent, of 57 million deaths around the world every year.
UNDP chief calls for scaled-up efforts to fight poverty
New York, 17 Sept 2012—Disparities within and between countries remain "striking," requiring more work toward global anti-poverty goals, UN Development Programme (UNDP) head Helen Clark said today.
The anti-poverty Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) have already helped launch hundreds of millions of people on the path to better lives and “have succeeded in creating a common agenda which unites countries and peoples around the world,” Clark said in a statement marking the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.
“But more effort is needed to sustain these gains and reach those still untouched by this progress. Disparities within and between countries remain striking. Overburdened and ill-equipped institutions, neglected agricultural sectors, missing sanitation and energy services, chronic malnutrition, and discrimination against women and girls, ethnic minorities, and other groups remain barriers to progress in many countries.”
Washington, 1 Oct 2012—A leading international aid transparency organization said the UN Development Program (UNDP) has “performed well” in its transparency efforts and said the agency should be congratulated.
Publish What You Fund ranked UNDP in the top 10 among 72 organizations in its 2012 Aid Transparency Index, noting that the UN’s lead development agency is an original International Aid Transparency Index (IATI) signatory. “It should be congratulated for beginning publication to the IATI Registry in November 2011,” the organization said.
UNDP is scheduled to provide an updated set of transparency data by the end of 2012 and move to automated reporting in 2013.
The Aid Transparency Index, produced annually, ranks 72 aid organizations across 43 different indicators. Organizations include traditional multilateral and bilateral donors, as well as private foundations and climate finance and development finance institutions.
Development must engage informal justice, UN study says Investing in youth is key to Somalia's future, UNDP report says
(Photo: UNDP)
New York, 28 Sept 2012—The future of Somalia and the well-being of its people rest significantly on empowering the country's large and mostly jobless youth population, a new United Nations Development Program (UNDP) report said today.
The Somalia Human Development Report 2012: Empowering youth for peace and development is the first report of its kind on this war-torn Horn of Africa country in more than a decade.
"As witnessed in the Arab region and elsewhere, young people can serve as potent drivers of political, social and economic transformation," Sima Bahous, UNDP's Regional Director of the Regional Bureau for the Arab States, told a news conference here. "We can no longer afford to overlook the potential gains from placing youth at the center of Somalia's development," she said, adding that more than 70 percent of Somalia's population is under the age of 30.
Collaboration key to achieving global anti-poverty goals
New York, 26 Sept 2012—World leaders today called for a sustained, united front to reach still-unmet anti-poverty Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), with stepped-up efforts to eradicate poverty and empower the world’s most vulnerable people.
Speaking at a United Nations Development Program (UNDP) side event during the 67th General Assembly, UNDP Administrator Helen Clark said the MDGs have succeeded in creating a common agenda that unites countries and people around the world.
“Their time-bound, clear, and measurable targets have focused action on the most basic indicators of sustainable human development,” she said in her opening remarks at high-level panel, “Delivering on the MDGs: Accelerating for the Future,” which included leaders from the Central African Republic, Indonesia, Kenya, and Niger.
Development programmes must engage informal justice systems, UN study says Human rights, access to justice for all must play central role
New York , 26 Sept, 2012—Informal or traditional justice systems for resolving disputes are preferred by up to 80 percent of people in some countries and must be integrated into broader development initiatives aimed at guaranteeing human rights and access to justice for all, according to a UN study released today.
Informal justice systems “may be more accessible than formal mechanisms and may have the potential to provide quick, relatively inexpensive, and culturally relevant remedies,” with particular impact for women and children, the study, Informal Justice Systems: Charting a Course for Human Rights-Based Engagement, says.
The 400-page report, commissioned by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), UNICEF, and UN Women and produced by the Danish Institute for Human Rights, is the most comprehensive UN study on this complex area of justice to date. It draws conclusions based on research in Bangladesh, Ecuador, Malawi, Niger, Papua New Guinea, Uganda, and 12 other developing countries.
Businesses commit to improve lives of more than 34 million people
New York, 25 Sept 2012—A broad range of companies from corporations to social enterprises made new commitments Tuesday to the Business Call to Action (BCtA) that will improve the lives of more than 34 million people worldwide, through market-based approaches that will accelerate development while generating new profits.
Nokia (Finland), Itaú Unibanco (Brazil), ITOCHU Corporation (Japan), kurkku (Japan), Hybrid Social Solutions (Philippines), Novozymes A/S (Denmark), Unicharm Corporation (Japan), Honey Care Africa (Kenya), Zoona (Zambia), Sorridents (Brazil), and Waste Capital Partners (United States) all made their pledges here through BCtA, a global initiative to promote poverty reduction and sustainable social and economic development.
Citizens’ voices key to renewed post-2015 development agenda, says UNDP Chief
New York , 25 Sept, 2012—Public consultation in more than 50 developing countries will play a key role in the global process to ensure citizens’ views underpin a post-2015 human development agenda, United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Administrator Helen Clark said today.
Speaking during a High-Level Panel on the Post-2015 Development Agenda during the 67th Session of the UN General Assembly, Ms. Clark said that if people are heard and respected they will be more likely to help deliver a successor framework to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
“We hope that an ambitious post-2015 development agenda can be established, aimed at eradicating poverty in all its dimensions and providing a green, inclusive and equitable future for all,” she said. “While the findings of the High-level Panel will be vital, the priorities of citizens, civil society groups and independent experts must also inform the design of a renewed agenda.”
Inclusive social contract is key to creating lasting systems in crisis, post-crisis countries, UNDP expert says
Washington, 18 Sept 2012—Broad national consultations play a key role in establishing governance and rule-of-law systems that will endure in countries emerging from conflicts and crises, according to a senior UN Development Program (UNDP) expert.
“Because we work in crisis areas, we are often present when a national conversation about the type of society people want is possible. Poor people want better opportunities and everyone wants the conflict to stop,” Sheelagh Stewart, leader of UNDP’s Governance and Rule of Law team in the Bureau for Crisis Prevention & Recovery, said in remarks at the US Institute of Peace.
“This is the moment when a conversation about rule of law and justice, about the social contract that holds it all together, is possible. Our job is to facilitate that conversation,” she said.
UNDP Administrator calls for more focus on rule of law
(Photo: UNDP)
New York, 24 Sept 2012—UN Development Program (UNDP) Administrator Helen Clark today urged UN Member States to focus on strengthening rule of law, which she described as critical to sustained development and stable, accountable government.
“The rule of law enables citizens to invest in their own futures and exercise their rights. It enables governments to govern better, respond to emerging challenges, and advance human development,” Ms. Clark told a High-Level Meeting on Rule of Law at the 67th UN General Assembly.
The General Assembly today holds its first-ever high-level meeting devoted to rule of law, one day before the general debate opens. It will consider a report from the Secretary-General, “Delivering justice: program of action to strengthen the rule of law at the national and international levels.” More
UNDP offers six-point plan to fast-track women in politics in Asia- Pacific
Bangkok, 20 Sept 2012—It will take 50 years to achieve gender balance in Asia-Pacific national legislatures unless the increase in women’s participation speeds up sharply, a UN Development Program (UNDP) study released this week says.
The recommendations in Gender Equality in Elected Office in Asia-Pacific: Six Actions to Expand Women’s Empowerment offer multiple policies to speed up gender equality. As every country has its own specific social, political, economic and historical circumstances no single approach will work, but the approaches outlined in the study have the advantage of being able to be individually tailored for each specific national context.
The study was launched today as part of a two-day UNDP meeting on its governance and gender programs in Asia.
Educated citizens form bedrock of democracy, UNDP chief says
UN agency supports one-third of parliaments, an election every two weeks
New York, 15 Sept 2012—Educated, empowered citizens free to participate in political life are the foundation of a society in which democratic governance can take root, UN Development Program (UNDP) Administrator Helen Clark said in a statement marking International Democracy Day.
“International Democracy Day is the occasion to reaffirm our commitment to human dignity, equal rights and equal opportunities, freedom and solidarity. In celebrating democratic accomplishments around the world, we remember that the struggle to build more inclusive and fair societies, economies, and governance systems continues in many countries and can involve threats to life and personal security.”
“A functioning democracy needs effective institutions but it also relies on people being aware of both their rights and their responsibilities. It requires those to be respected and upheld. It requires accountable government.”
UNDP supports training of civil society organizations and media worldwide to help build accountability, in accordance with the UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC).
Rio+20 a groundswell for putting our world on a sustainable course,
says UNDP Chief
Christchurch/New York, 20 Aug 2012—The outcome document of June’s “Rio+20” UN Conference on Sustainable Development reinforced global commitment to tackle social, economic, and environmental challenges together, UNDP Administrator Helen Clark said today.
“The more polluted and unequal our world becomes, the more Governments will tend to view environmental and social protection systems not as luxuries to be acquired when countries become wealthy, but as necessities, vital to sustain development and meet the needs of citizens,” Helen Clark said, giving Lincoln University’s annual “State of the Nation’s Environment” address.
Rio+20 ranked as the largest-ever UN gathering, including some 100 Heads of State and 40,000 individuals and representatives of civil society, communities, and businesses.
UNDP Chief urges increased investment in disaster risk reduction:
Empowered people can build resilient nations
(Photo: UNDP)
Christchurch, New Zealand, 15 August 2012—Countries must invest in disaster prevention and preparedness and donors and aid organizations must prioritize such support to poor countries to sustain gains in human and economic development, Helen Clark, former New Zealand Prime Minister and UNDP Administrator said here.
“I see our work in disaster risk reduction being about building fences at the top of cliffs, rather than being content to place ambulances at the bottom.”
She highlighted the devastating effects of natural disasters on the poorest and most vulnerable and the urgent need for prevention and resilience for these communities.
Report urges better governance to address food insecurity
Better policies are needed to address chronic food insecurity in Africa, Pedro Conceicao, RBA Chief Economist said July 20 at a panel discussion in Washington of UNDP's first African Human Development Report. "The premise of the report is that policies have to change," Conceicao said at the nonprofit Brooking Institution. "We have to find mechanisms to make leaders and decision-makers more accountable to the aspirations of the population."
The panel, hosted by the Brookings Africa Growth Initiative (AGI), included Acting Deputy Assistant to the Administrator at the USAID Bureau of Food Security Beth Dunford, Brookings Senior Fellow and AGI Director Mwangi S. Kimenyi, and Eugene Terry, senior technical adviser at TransFarm Africa.
"The interesting thing about agricultural productivity is that it is beneficial not only to the extent that it makes more food available but it is a very powerful instrument for reducing poverty, for generating income, and generating employment and job opportunities," Conceicao said. “In this circumstance, agricultural productivity is a major engine, not only of making more food available, but of making more income available and making employment opportunities available also."
UNDP Board votes to make internal audits publicly accessible
Geneva, 29 June, 2012—The UN Development Program (UNDP) Executive Board today approved the agency’s plan to make UNDP audit reports publicly accessible by the end of the year, with audit executive summaries online beginning in July.
Calling it “the next step” in a series of moves toward increased transparency, UNDP Administrator Helen Clark welcomed the decision by UNDP’s 36-member Board, saying it would enhance confidence among donors and stakeholders in UNDP operations and oversight.
UNDP’s proposal, submitted with UNOPS and UNFPA and approved Friday, would achieve “full transparency in disclosure of internal audit reports,” she said, by releasing executive summaries of all internal audit reports within weeks and making all internal audits issued after Dec. 1, 2012 available in full on UNDP’s public Website.
Towards a new social contract UNDP Tunisia releases new message
Afghanistan: UNDP highlights success stories in newly launched annual report
Kabul, 27 June 2012—Despite being confronted with major security challenges and a fragile political environment in Afghanistan, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) remains committed to improving the lives of Afghans, many still suffering following decades of war, recurrent natural disasters and a continuing cycle of violence.
The country’s fragile security situation have posed serious hurdles in the delivery of vital assistance in many areas, yet UNDP forges ahead – even in the most remote, rugged parts of the country - working tirelessly to improve the lives of Afghans across the country. With more than 800 staff on the ground and equipped with nearly 50 years of experience working in the country, UNDP has established its role as a provider, supporter and resource of development assistance in Afghanistan.
Going beyond GDP, UNDP proposes human development measure of sustainability
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 20 June 2012—In a high-level forum at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development today the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) presented the conceptual groundwork for a future “Sustainable Human Development Index,” which would recognize the cost of human development to future generations.
The UNDP forum was prompted by the call made by many in Rio for a UN-led examination of alternatives to purely economic measurements of national and global progress, said UNDP Administrator Helen Clark, who moderated today’s panel discussion.
World Business and Development Awards announce winners at Rio+20: Fighting poverty can benefit businesses
London, Paris, New York, Rio de Janeiro, 19 June, 2012—Eleven companies received today the 2012 World Business and Development Awards (WBDA) for their efforts to improve living standards in some of the world’s most disadvantaged communities. Winners were recognized at a ceremony concluding the Business Action for Sustainable Development Business Day taking place during the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), where world leaders along with thousands of participants from governments, the private sector, NGOs and other groups, have convened.
The Awards recognize innovative business models that deliver both commercial success and help improve social, economic or environmental conditions—otherwise known as inclusive business models—with winning companies engaged in diverse initiatives such as providing affordable clean energy to low-income communities in Kenya and boosting reforestation in India to providing micro-credit in Brazil.
Washington, 11 June, 2012—US Friends of UNDP today presented its annual Julia V. Taft Award to the UN Development Programme (UNDP) Country Office in Tunisia in recognition of its exceptional work supporting the North African country's transition.
"In Tunisia, development partners had only small, if any, footprints prior to the change of regime in January 2011. Responses and capacities to support the transition had to be developed rapidly," UNDP Administrator Helen Clark told a reception here. "UNDP's Country Office in Tunisia rose to the challenge, positioning itself to respond to historic events."
"Our people supported Tunisia's Independent Elections Commission, which oversaw the Constituent Assembly elections held last October. We were delighted to see 76 percent of registered voters turn out to vote in the country's first free elections since independence." More
(Photo: UNDP Tunisia)
Development must focus on long- and short-term results, UNDP Associate Administrator says
Washington, 5 June, 2012—International agencies and donors are rightly and increasingly pressing for concrete results, but some long-terms investments with major impact are difficult to measure, UN Development Programme (UNDP) Associate Administrator Rebeca Grynspan said today.
“With fewer resources, we are putting more and more emphasis on results,” Grynspan told a plenary session of the Society for International Development annual conference here. “Especially over the last two years.”
“Citizens and governments are demanding accountability” for their development dollars, she said as part of a panel on International Approaches to Development, “and it’s the only way we can maintain that commitment.”
“These survey results paint a grim picture of the current situation of the Roma across the 11 EU Member States surveyed,” says FRA Director Morten Kjaerum. “Discrimination and anti-gypsyism persist. The results show that swift, effective action is needed, particularly to improve Roma education. This is key to unlock their future potential, and it will equip young Roma with the skills they need to escape the vicious cycle of discrimination, exclusion and poverty.”
UNDP Goodwill Ambassador Antonio Banderas invites people to join the global conversation on Rio+20
New York, 22 May 2012—World renowned Spanish actor and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Goodwill Ambassador Antonio Banderas today launched a public service announcement aiming at inviting people to join the global conversation alongside the 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development “Rio+20”. The 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development, or “Rio+20” is a forum on how to make sustainable development a reality for seven billion people today, and to define the future we want for nine billion by 2050.
The Future We Want UNDP releases new message on energy access
Energy is central to many economic, social, and environmental concerns facing the world today. Lack of access to reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy services contributes to a self-perpetuating cycle of poverty and problems of health, gender inequity, and environmental degradation. Developing countries need reliable access to modern energy if they are to achieve economic growth, reduce poverty, and improve the health of their citizens. Investment in modern energy is indispensable for a prosperous and sustainable future. UNDP is helping people gain access to modern energy for the Future We Want.
Addressing hunger precondition for sustained human development in sub-Saharan Africa, UNDP Report says
Food security is central to continent’s development agenda
Nairobi, Kenya, 15 May 2012—Sub-Saharan Africa cannot sustain its ongoing economic resurgence without eliminating the hunger that affects nearly a quarter of its people, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) says in its first-ever Africa Human Development Report, released today.
“Impressive GDP growth rates in Africa have not translated into the elimination of hunger and malnutrition. Inclusive growth and people-centered approaches to food security are needed,” said UNDP Administrator Helen Clark said in launching the report, Towards a Food Secure Future, with Kenya’s President Mwai Kibaki.
Arguing that action focused on agriculture alone won’t end food insecurity, the Report calls for new approaches covering multiple sectors—from rural infrastructure to health services, to new forms of social protection and empowering local communities.
Asia-Pacific can no longer afford to grow first, clean up later, says UNDP report
Asia-Pacific actions to address climate change will have global impact
Jakarta, May 10, 2012—Countries in Asia and the Pacific are at a crossroads and must now strike a balance between rising prosperity and rising emissions. Their success or failure will have repercussions worldwide, a report released today by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) says.
The Asia-Pacific region must continue to grow economically to lift millions out of poverty, but it must also respond to climate change to survive. Growing first and cleaning up later is no longer an option, says the Asia-Pacific Human Development Report 2012—One Planet to Share: Sustaining Human Progress in a Changing Climate. The publication is aimed at reinvigorating climate change dialogue by bringing people’s concerns into the fore in the lead-up to the Rio +20 conference.
“The world's common future will be hugely affected by the choices that are made in Asia and the Pacific on a low carbon growth path,” says Ajay Chhibber, UN Assistant Secretary-General, UNDP Assistant Administrator and Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific. “The goal is clear: reduce poverty, increase prosperity but leave a smaller carbon footprint.”
UNDP’s "Himalayan Meltdown" wins top prize at International Film Festival
Houston, Texas, April 23, 2012—The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) film "Himalayan Meltdown" took first prize for a broadcast documentary at the 45th Annual Worldfest International Film Festival, the world's longest-running independent film festival.
The one-hour film examines the shrinking glaciers of the Himalayas, and how their diminution has affected the lives and livelihoods of billions of people in Asia. It illustrates critical solutions, small and large, simple and complex, for coping and adapting in a changing environment.
"Revealed: Himalayan Meltdown" aired on Discovery Channel Asia in 2011, co-produced by UNDP and Arrowhead Films and aimed at examining the impact of glacial ice melt on communities in Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, and Nepal.
United Nations, French Development Agency sign partnership accord to speed fight against poverty
Washington, Apr. 21, 2012—With the clock running out on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and l’Agence Française de Développement (AFD), the French Development Agency, signed an agreement Saturday pledging to work more closely together to speed up progress toward the anti-poverty goals.
The new agreement brings the two organizations closer to forge solutions in the areas of the fight against climate change, youth employment and the promotion of public-private partnerships for the provision of essential services.
A centerpiece of the job creation component is a shared commitment to enhance and promote dialogue among public authorities, civil society, and the private sector to facilitate the professional insertion of unemployed youths, particularly women. A specific focus will be placed on the Middle East, a priority for both institutions.
Development demands new partnerships, UNDP official says
Washington, Apr. 20, 2012—Daunting new challenges demand a major shift in development which puts building resilience at its centre, UN Development Programme Administrator Helen Clark said today.
“If you don't have a basic level of resilience then you can't hang on to the gains you've made when adversity and shocks come along,” Helen Clark told a High Level Panel on Resilience Dialogue at the World Bank-International Monetary Fund spring meeting here. But major donors “are beginning to place building resilience at the top of their priorities. I'm really quite optimistic that we might make some breakthroughs.”
Building resilience requires time and a longer-term planning cycle than development partners have historically approved, Ms. Clark said earlier this week. “Funding over a five- to 10-year time frame at the country level is paramount. UNDP’s work on resilience continues to be compromised by a lack of sustained funding, even in modest amounts.”
Before the devastating Wenchuan earthquake in southwestern China on 12 May 2008, 62-year-old Qing Liehua’s main source of income and food for his family was chicken farming. After the earthquake destroyed his home in Qinghe Village, Sichuan Province, however, he lost everything, including his chickens.
Qing was one of the 40 million people who were affected by the earthquake, which killed almost 90,000 people. The destruction left behind untold levels of poverty and loss in communities that were already living a marginal existence.
At the request of the Government of China, UNDP stepped in, launching a two-year, US$5.3 million programme to assist 20 of the poorest villages that were affected by the earthquake. With its already long-standing presence in China, UNDP was uniquely placed to assist.
Egyptians learn from transition to democracy and social, economic advances in Brazil
(Photo: UN)
Apr.20, 2012—A delegation of Egyptian business leaders and government officials has finished a two-day visit to Brazil and is heading to Chile to learn how the two South American countries transitioned to democracy in the 1980’s and 1990’s respectively, following two decades of military regime.
The UNDP-led initiative promotes direct exchange between Egyptians and South Americans to boost the North African country’s own transition to democracy and support its path towards sustainable development.
The exchange takes place in a key moment in Egypt’s restructuring process. In 2011 a wave of protests resulted in President Hosni Mubarak’s resignation after 30 years in power. Egypt is currently drafting a new constitution and presidential elections are taking place in the coming months. More
Development demands new partnerships, UNDP official says
Washington—As new challenges emerge and old social structures diminish, sustainable development can occur only in the context of new partnerships between the public and private sectors, UNDP Deputy Assistant Administrator Romesh Muttukumaru said here.
“Solutions can be found when governments come together with the private sector and civil society and find synergies, combine their resources, and work hand in hand in all stages of projects,” Muttukumaru told a panel at the Global Philanthropy Forum, meeting here April 16-18.
The Global Philanthropy Forum gathers annually, convening some 200 philanthropists, foundations, and others from around the world.
UNDP- IKEA Foundation expand partnership to build self-reliance of 2.2 million women in India
(Photo: UNDP India)
New Delhi, Apr. 10, 2012—The IKEA Foundation has committed €30 million (approximately US$40 million) for a programme to empower 2.2 million poor rural women in India. This will allow the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to reach these millions of women and their families in approximately 20,000 villages in some of India’s poorest districts.
UNDP’s Swaayam (Sanskrit for ‘self-reliance’) empowerment model integrating the key social, economic, political and legal dimensions was initiated two years ago in a pilot programme funded by the IKEA Foundation in 500 villages in northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh with a grant of €5.5 million (US$ 7.5 million), successfully reaching approximately 50,000 women to strengthen their abilities to become catalysts of change. More
Building a sustainable democracy in Libya
Tripoli—A year ago, Khadija Baba would not have considered engaging in any independent civil society or political activities in her home town of Tripoli. Not only was such activity forbidden under the former regime in Libya, but it would have likely landed the university student in prison. Now, with UNDP support, Baba has completed the first phase of training to become a Civic Education Instructor for her peers in Libyan universities.
Baba was among 15 women and 11 men selected to attend a comprehensive civic educational training session, employing the Building Resources in Democracy, Governance & Elections (BRIDGE) approach. The training comprises the first of three components of UNDP’s $4.37 million “Support to Civic Engagement in Libya’s Transition” project, which began in January.
“Landmines and explosive remnants of war take a heavy toll on people's livelihoods, countries' economic and social development, and international peace-building efforts,” Jordan Ryan, Director of the UNDP Bureau for Crisis Prevention & Recovery, said.
The joint effort by mine-affected countries, non-governmental organizations, and the United Nations to clear mines, provide mine risk education, and destroy stockpiles has helped to reduce the annual number of new casualties to about 4,000—down more than 75 percent from a high of 26,000 in 1997. More
Haitian women rebuild their lives one brick at a time
The main driving force for earthquake-damaged house rebuilding in Haiti is not the government, the private sector, NGOs, or international organizations. Families and communities have been playing a vital role, taking the task to build back a more resilient country into their own hands—especially women who head more than 40 percent of Haitian households.
For the past three months the Community Support Centers for House Self-Repair, known by the French acronym CARMEN, have been empowering quake-affected communities in the capital Port-au-Prince and the western town of Léogâne to directly take charge of house reparations, with engineering assessments and construction trainings. The UN Development Program (UNDP)-Government of Haiti initiative has registered more than 19,000 people who will be trained in disaster-resilient house building techniques. Nearly half of them are women.
Indonesia: Partnership helps preserve climate and build green economy
(Photo: UNDP)
Indonesia is the largest economy in Southeast Asia and growing fast, with a population of over 200 million. Due to its hot and humid climate, the country faces an increasing demand for air conditioners, with a market estimated to reach 2.5 million units annually by 2015.
To help Indonesia ensure its air-conditioning industry is environmentally sustainable and select climate-friendly alternatives to hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), UNDP provided technical advice for the government to make informed policy choices. Experts analyzed available and viable alternatives which would bring benefits to both global climate and ozone layer and informed their Indonesian counterparts.
Port-au-Prince, Mar. 23, 2012 —On her second visit to Haiti since the devastating January 2010 earthquake, UNDP Administrator Helen Clark said today she was impressed by progress in the capital, Port-au-Prince, two years after an earthquake devastated the Caribbean island nation, killing 200,000.
“I saw a huge difference from the desolation I saw four days after the earthquake: The streets of Port-au-Prince are alive again,” Helen Clark said. “I feel very confident in the capacity of the Haitian people to rebuild their own country.”
More than 60 percent of the 10 million cubic meters of rubble left by the quake has been removed in one of the largest-scale clearance operations of its kind by the United Nations and partners, coordinated by UNDP. More than 80,000 buildings in Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas collapsed after the magnitude 7 earthquake rocked Haiti on Jan. 12, 2010, leaving a mass of concrete, steel, and other debris equivalent to 4,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools. More
Political parties must open doors to women, UNDP official says
Washington, Mar. 22, 2012 —Bringing women into political parties is smart politics and gets results, UNDP Gender Team director Winnie Byanyima said here Thursday on a panel to launch a new report by UNDP and the nonprofit National Democratic Institute (NDI).
The study identifies ways to promote the stronger presence and influence of women in political parties as well as advancing gender equality issues in policies and platforms. The lessons learned and common strategies are drawn mainly from 20 case studies commissioned by UNDP and conducted by NDI from 2009-2010. More
“The majority of people all over the world displaced by conflicts are women and children,” UNDP senior gender expert Roma Bhattacharjea told a UN Association gathering in Washington. “By promoting the voices and participation of women in peace-building, we are broadening the consultative processes, bringing to the table the everyday issues of ordinary citizens affected by conflict, and broadening our agenda.”
Washington, Mar. 19, 2012—The nonprofit Center for American Progress today published a new interactive map to track and categorize US aid, to show where foreign assistance goes and how recipient countries rank on basic indicators such as political rights and civil liberties, corruption, and overall levels of development. The new map reflects country-by-country US assistance spending for fiscal year 2011.
Development rankings come from UNDP's 2011 Human Development Index. For this map, countries were ranked as having high, medium, or low development based on which third of the development index they fell into.
Freedom rankings come from Freedom House’s Freedom in the World 2011, the organization’s annual survey of global political rights and civil liberties. Freedom House ranked countries as free, partly free, or not free based on a survey of political rights and civil liberties.
Corruption indicators come from Transparency International’s 2011 Corruption Perceptions Index. Countries were ranked as having high, medium, or low corruption based on which third of the corruption index they fell into. More
Second Arab Knowledge Report addresses future generations
The Arab Knowledge Report 2010-2011, launched this week, is second in a series of reports that the United Nations Development Programme is jointly producing with the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation (MBRF).
This year’s report addresses the crucial issue of preparing future generations for the knowledge society.
The report adopts the triad of skills, values and enabling environments as the basic pillars for preparing the future generations. The basic argument is to investigate and address the issue of providing future generations with the required skills (cognitive and conative and social) for active participation in knowledge society building processes.
World Water Forum International Charter promotes universal access
Marseille, Mar. 15, 2012—UNDP has led a group of 25 institutions in creating a new international tool, launched this week, to promote decentralized cooperation in water and sanitation.
The Global Water Solidarity Platform was launched yesterday at the World Water Forum in Marseille, France, where 20,000 participants from the private, public, and non-profit sectors gathered to address the water crisis.
At the UNDP event, numerous organizations joined local authorities from across Africa and Europe at a special ceremony to sign the Decentralized Solidarity Mechanisms International Charter.
UNDP official stresses role of private engagement in development
New era demands more knowledge-sharing and expertise
Washington—Major changes in the multilateral landscape have paved the way for new partnerships and a concrete, recognized role for the private sector in development, UNDP Assistant Administrator for External Relations and Advocacy Sigrid Kaag said here.
“The geopolitical and multilateral landscapes have changed, creating new opportunities to partner and co-create,” Kaag told a panel discussion at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Feb. 24. “The development experiences and approaches coming from emerging economies provide new examples and new insights.”
UNDP draws on its legitimacy, neutrality, and global reach to further promote trilateral cooperation and private sector engagement, she said, adding that the agency seeks to foster inclusive markets with jobs and services for the poor, predictable economic bases, and good governance.
Sierra Leone Saturday courts tackle gender-based violence
(Photo: UNDP)
Freetown, Sierra Leone—Survivors of sex- and gender-based violence in Sierra Leone are having their day in court, as the judiciary now sits on Saturdays in a critical first step toward clearing a backlog of some 700 cases.
Since their inception in February 2011, the Saturday courts have heard more than 630 cases and processed more than half of them. To date, 85 cases have been discharged for lack of evidence.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has provided logistical support to the courts, and together with the Sierra Leone Police, helped train more than 250 police officers to investigate gender-based crime more effectively and successfully support the prosecution process, including through the proper management of survivors and witnesses.
Guidebook promotes women’s participation in politics
With women underrepresented in high level politics and decision-making the world over, a new guide produced by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the National Democratic Institute (NDI) is showing political parties how they can begin to redress this imbalance by supporting women’s participation in the electoral process.
Empowering Women for Stronger Political Parties - A Guidebook to Promote Women’s Political Participation, launched by UNDP Administrator Helen Clark last Wednesday, provides best practices on how political parties can promote women’s participation in decision-making at all levels.
Globally, although women comprise 40 to 50 percent of members of political parties, they hold only about ten percent of party leadership positions.
First mobile phone cash transfer for housing repairs kicks off in Haiti
(Photo: UNDP)
Port au Prince/New York, Mar. 1, 2012—Haiti’s earthquake-affected households started, this week, to receive cash installments through the first ever mobile money transfer mechanism to support post-disaster housing reconstruction.
More than 2,000 mobile money transfers are planned in the next three months to 1,000 low-income families receiving subsidies totaling US$500 to purchase construction materials such as cement, iron and wood at selected project-certified stores for high-quality assurance at affordable prices. The initiative is part of the ‘Community Support centers for House Repairs’, a partnership between the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the Government of Haiti.
Key steps, leadership can address surging Caribbean violence, UNDP official says Washington, Feb. 27, 2012—Latin America and the Caribbean are facing crisis levels of violent crime, UNDP Assistant Administrator Heraldo Muñoz said here, but a combination of prevention, effective law enforcement, and political leadership can reverse it.“ This is the most violent region in the world,” Munoz told a Capitol Hill briefing on UNDP’s first Caribbean Human Development Report, Human Development & the Shift to Better Citizen Security. “Twelve of the 20 most violent countries in the world are in Latin America and the Caribbean.”more
Listen to a panel discussion on Emerging Economies & New Models of
Public-Private Partnerships at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Friday, Feb 24, 2012, withSigrid Kaag, Assistant Secretary-General and UNDP Assistant Administrator, Bureau for External Relations and Advocacy,
Ho-Jin Lee, Visiting Fellow, Korea Chair, CSIS andCurt Reintsma, Director of Donor Engagement, USAID More
Democracy necessary but not enough, UNDP report says Cairo, Feb. 19, 2012—Arab progress towards democracy hinges on success in dealing with economic and other challenges, particularly social justice, according to UNDP’s new Arab Development Challenges Report 2011, launched here with representatives from the Egyptian government along with academic and development professionals.more
Up to 33 million in Africa, Asia to get solar energy New York, Feb. 16, 2012—Up to 33 million people living in poverty in Africa and Asia will gain access to low-cost solar energy by 2016 following a commitment made by solar power provider ToughStuff to the Business Call to Action (BCtA) today. The BCtA is a global initiative that encourages private sector efforts to fight poverty, supported by several international organizations including the UN Development Programme (UNDP). more
UN agencies, USAID, EC call for urgent aid in West Africa Rome, Feb. 15, 2012—Leaders of United Nations agencies, representatives of affected governments, and major donors today called for an urgent scale-up of humanitarian, rehabilitation, and development assistance to address rising levels of hunger and malnutrition in the Sahel region of West Africa.
The worsening food situation is the result of drought, high food prices, displacement, and conflict. After an emergency meeting at the headquarters of the UN World Food Programme (WFP), participants agreed that the time for humanitarian action is now. more
UNDP steps up capacity to support major transitions in Afghanistan New York—The UN Development Programme (UNDP) is reinforcing its capacity in Afghanistan to better support the country's security, economic, and political transitions up to and beyond 2014, UNDP Associate Administrator Rebeca Grynspan said yesterday.
Following a strategic review in 2011, UNDP will strengthen the policy, programmatic, outreach, and operational capacities of its Afghanistan country office to provide Afghanistan even more effective support in the face of multiple challenges over the critical next few years. More
Gang violence takes rising toll in lives, threatens Caribbean economies, says UNDP First Caribbean Human Development Report recommends ways to fight rising crime
Port of Spain, Feb. 8, 2012—Crime has become a major threat to economies and livelihoods in Caribbean countries, but the right mix of policies and programs can halt the problem, a new report launched here today by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) says.The report, Human Development and the Shift to Better Citizen Security, says that with the exception of Barbados and Suriname, homicide rates, including gang-related killings,have surged in the last 12 years across the Caribbean while declining or stabilizing in other parts of the world. more
Earthquake preparedness works, Indonesians show Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Jan. 26, 2012—When a powerful 7.6 magnitude earthquake hit the Aceh province in the northern tip of Indonesia on 10 January there was no damage or casualty—a very different situation compared to seven years earlier when a devastating quake and tsunami killed more than 230,000 people across South East Asia, more than 70 percent of them in Aceh alone.
Now the Acehnese population is better prepared to face disasters, following an effective government-led public campaign with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)-sponsored disaster preparedness training programmes. more
UNDP chief urges faster moves on transparency New York, Feb. 2, 2012—UN Development Program (UNDP) Administrator Helen Clark urged the agency's Executive Board today to expedite approval of a plan to make all UNDP audit reports publicly accessible by the end of the year.
"As I advised the Board last September, my objective is, with the Board's support, to make UNDP's internal audit reports publicly available. A list of all internal audit reports issued is already available on the UNDP Website, so all interested stakeholders know what has been audited and reported on," Clark told the 36-member Executive Board.more
Nominations open for World Business & Development Awards Sustainable, inclusive initiatives to be honored in Rio
London, New York, Paris, Feb. 2, 2012—The World Business & Development Awards today launched an open call for nominations for successful business initiatives that support sustainable development. All organizations, regardless of size or location, engaged in innovative, successful business models that are in line with the Rio+20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development, may apply online by March 25, 2012. more
128 countries are receiving UNDP support for democratic governance
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103 countries are receiving support from UNDP for anti-corruption efforts
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60 countries are receiving UNDP election assistance
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60 percent of municipalities in Jordan are now using a UNDP-created property tax collection system
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1.2 million people have benefited from UNDP temporary job programs in Haiti
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250,000 people in Armenia have benefited from water, sanitation, microfinance and other UNDP programs
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150,000 people in Liberia received counseling and treatment for HIV & AIDS with UNDP help
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$550 million in interest savings for Jamaica after UNDP helped negotiate with creditors
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6 million square meters of land cleared in Cambodia with UNDP support
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95 percent of UNDP's partners consider the organization a "critical partner" in contributing to the anti-poverty MDGs
UNDP helps register 30 million people for DR Congo vote
Electoral fund of more than US$202 million has 12 donors
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, UNDP has helped train some 31,000 Electoral Commission and temporary staff and set up 8,163 voter registration centers ahead of the central African country’s second-ever national election, set for Nov. 28 this year
Washington, 24 Jan 2013—The UN Development Program (UNDP) Washington Representation Office this week welcomes Jérome Sauvage as its new Deputy Director. He has served UNDP for decades and brings with him vast experience in Asia, Africa, programming, and field operations.
Remarks by Olav Kjørven, Assistant Secretary General & Director of the Bureau for Development Policy, United Nations Development Program (UNDP) 
It took 29 years for Alfredo to find out the truth about who he really is. The 31-year-old, originally from Guatemala, now lives in the US. He always thought that his name was Oscar, and that Lieutenant Oscar Ovidio Ramírez Ramos, the father he loved, was a military hero in his native country. But thanks in-part to a 
Like thousands of other women in DRC, Gisèle is a survivor of the sexual violence that has become commonplace during the country’s long-running civil conflict. The Heal Africa Hospital based in Goma recently reported that an estimated 5,000 women were raped in one province this year alone. 
New York, 17 Sept 2012—Disparities within and between countries remain "striking," requiring more work toward global anti-poverty goals, UN Development Programme (UNDP) head Helen Clark said today. 
New York, 15 Sept 2012—Educated, empowered citizens free to participate in political life are the foundation of a society in which democratic governance can take root, UN Development Program (UNDP) Administrator Helen Clark said in a statement marking International Democracy Day.
