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24 June 2010 Helen Clark:Statement to the UNDP/UNFPA Executive Board
Declaración de Helen Clark Mr. President, Introduction This is the first Board meeting since Heraldo Munoz, the new Director for the Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean,
assumed his position. Sigrid Kaag has been appointed Director for the Partnerships Bureau and will assume her post in August.
I extend a warm welcome to these new colleagues. It is more than one year now since I joined UNDP as its Administrator. Over the past fourteen months I have prioritized getting to know as much as possible, as quickly as possible, about the
organization, its global operations, and its many different stakeholders. The insights I have gained are being applied to position UNDP, and the UN development system at large, strategically to
help countries achieve lasting development results. As the world changes, UNDP and the UN development system must also change to remain relevant. Old approaches and solutions
do not work in dealing with 21st century development challenges. We must adapt to respond more effectively to the desire of programme countries to make transformational change in their
development status. UNDP has many comparative advantages. Through its global presence it can call on vast development expertise, facilitate
learning and exchanges between countries, and provide access to cutting edge development ideas and practices. UNDP as a trusted partner can support capacity development, provide strategic policy advice in support of national development
plans, and help mobilize development resources. A changing UNDP in a changing world Looking ahead, my vision is for UNDP to be widely acknowledged as a world class, knowledge-based development organization
which helps developing countries make transformational change and helps channel the strengths of the entire UN development
system to that end. We must enhance countries’ resilience to cope with whatever challenges they might face. If the experience of the 21st century
to date is any guide, resilience is needed to ride through a wide range of shocks. UNDP needs to be flexible, focused, forward thinking, and able to lift the level of its interventions from the small scale
to the catalytic and the truly transformational – in support of countries’ own development agendas. To deliver on this vision, UNDP as an organization must evolve, and continually renew itself. In January I informed the Board that I was due to have a retreat with senior managers to intensify our implementation of
UNDP’s Strategic Plan 2008-2013. To chart this pathway forward, a business action plan has been established. It is a serious management effort aimed at improving UNDP’s performance as a leading development organization and co-ordinator
of the UN development system. The management group has identified seven key areas which require attention to ensure that UNDP is fit for purpose in the
21st century. Within each of those areas, workstreams have been established with specific outcomes sought from the work. On 4 June I had an in depth conversation with our staff linked around the world to brief them on our change programme. Throughout each of the seven workstreams we have established our prime focus is on ensuring that we achieve greater development
impact and results. The seven workstreams focus, in no particular order, on : 1. Positioning UNDP as a world-class knowledge-based organization. This is central to my vision. We must be better at generating, capturing, and sharing the successes and lessons learned
from our work across the organization, in order to inform the support and expand the options we can make available to other
countries. We will be taking further steps to capture and codify our knowledge, put the technology platforms in place to make that
knowledge widely accessible, and translate that knowledge into useful and timely policy options, tailored to each country’s
needs and circumstances. By sharpening our knowledge niche, we will also help sharpen our focus on those areas where we have the most to offer. knowledge. The first wave of activity is underway, with a more ambitious wave set to begin in September. We are also investing to make this platform a vehicle for linking together relevant knowledge from across the UN system. 2. Measuring and managing by results. Work in this stream includes ensuring that we support country offices to re-position their programmes to achieve greater
focus and impact; and that UN Development Assistance Frameworks and Country Programme Documents are more strategic, with clear
and measurable results frameworks which can be evaluated. Already we are collecting the lessons learned from those country offices which have successfully moved to a more strategic
upstream footing. This will help guide others along a similar path. Our goal is to support countries making the strategic and policy choices and building the capacity which will transform
their prospects. Then, as we operate in this way, we need to be able to measure reliably our contributions to outcomes – not simply outputs. In the coming years I expect to see a much stronger results-based management culture, and clear communication and reporting
on what UNDP is doing. 3. Building new strategic partnerships. Many of our largest donors are facing budgetary constraints. Their generosity is vital to UNDP, and I remain firmly committed
to maintaining and strengthening further our critical relationships with all of them at all levels. There is a rising number of middle-income and net contributing countries, which are nonetheless still desirous of continuing
our support to meet the persistent development challenges they face. I am pushing UNDP and the UN development system overall to more systematically facilitate South-South co-operation alongside
our traditional role of facilitating co-operation between the North and the South. In January I informed the Board about UNDP’s new relationship with the Republic of Korea. We are now working on taking
our partnerships for development to a new level of engagement with major South-South contributors. At the same time we are strengthening further our partnerships with the private sector, foundations, and civil society,
and are doing the same with key multilateral and regional institutions. 4. Driving greater effectiveness, internal efficiencies, and realigning incentives. Our central objectives here are to reduce the heavy process burden throughout the organization without sacrificing accountability,
and to find sustainable savings through more effective and efficient ways of working. Our common internal clients are the country offices, and we must all work in a well co-ordinated way to support them. We will also be reviewing and reforming policies and procedures to support more responsive operational programme delivery.
This will include streamlining and simplifying procurement and ensuring more effective use of ICT systems. A good example of the kind of change needed was the strategy for fast tracking UNDP’s crisis response. This has been important
for making sure we can respond more quickly and effectively to meet the needs of crisis-affected countries. We have already applied the policies and procedures in nine countries. We are reviewing the experience, with the aim of
rolling it out across a broader range of countries. 5. Managing performance and developing staff capacity. Our dedicated staff forms the backbone of UNDP. It is their efforts, often in very challenging and high-risk locations,
which allow us to produce results for those we serve. That makes it so important that we have a human resource system which allows us always to move swiftly, attract and select
those with the best possible and most appropriate skill sets, and get those staff to where and when their talents can be most
usefully applied. We are working to achieve more effective, flexible, and efficient recruitment, placement, and succession planning; staff
and career development; and reward and recognition systems. Human resource policies need to be streamlined to give better
support to the operational needs of the organization, and to strengthen the human resource management function in country
offices. We are developing a simplified performance appraisal system to ensure we provide better incentives for staff to support
strategic results, and also be less time consuming for all concerned. It is expected to be rolled out shortly. We will also be enhancing the learning opportunities offered to deepen staff competencies to support the effective delivery
of UNDP’s programmes. Leadership development and management skills programmes for senior, middle, and entry-level managers
will be launched soon. The one for senior managers was already piloted at leading universities. 6. Strategic communications. We must get better at communicating to wider audiences what it is that we do, how we do it, and what our interventions
help achieve. I have seen for myself many of the wonderful stories UNDP has to tell. But these are not shared widely enough or lucidly
told, so that too often our partners are left wondering what we are up to. We are strengthening our strategic communications with different external partners, and preparing better communication
products. To tell our story to diverse audiences in a variety of accessible ways, we are upgrading our website and expanding
outreach through multiple channels, like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. The positive reaction from the more youthful audiences
for these outlets is most encouraging. We are also continuing to improve how we communicate internally, and will be revamping our intranet. 7. Driving greater UN development co-ordination. For the UN development system to stay relevant in programme countries, we all have to scale up our activity drawing on
the strengths of the whole country team. We will be reviewing and strengthening our strategic management of the Resident Co-ordinator system, ensuring that we continue
to be a trusted leader for the UN development system. We will provide systematic support to the eight Delivering as One pilot countries, as well as to those voluntarily proceeding
down this path, and we will enhance the incentives which encourage UNDP staff to support UN reform. The seven workstreams in our business action plan are closely connected. An implementation group based in my executive
office maintains oversight of them. It identifies emerging issues which need to be addressed, and provides regular updates
to the management group. I look forward to keeping the Board regularly informed about our progress. The workstreams I have outlined come on top of changes which were already underway, such as those related to contractual
reform and preparing UNDP for the introduction of IPSAS. As outlined in the Annual Report, important steps have been taken over the past year to improve the safety and security
of UNDP’s staff and premises. That will continue to be given top priority. Next year we will present to the Board a mid-term review of the Strategic Plan. It will take a cross-cutting and in-depth
look at evaluations and other reviews related to UNDP’s contribution to development results. Resources and Results The responsibility to lead on UNDP’s change agenda and deliver results ultimately rests with me and with senior management.
But we need your support politically, and to ensure that we have the right level of predictable resources to get our job done
properly. To bring about the qualitative change we seek through this action plan, and to meet partners’ expectations of us, it is
essential that UNDP has a critical mass of “core” funding. By contrast, “non-core” resources entrusted to UNDP remained at a high level, reaching a total of $3.7 billion in 2009.
This shows that UNDP continues to be a partner of choice for donors. We look forward to engaging with each of you to discuss concrete measures which can be taken to achieve our core resource
targets. I am enormously grateful to all those partners who have already contributed to UNDP’s core resources and that of its associated
funds and programmes for 2010. I extend my particular appreciation to all who were able to pledge on a multi-year basis. UNDP will continue to ensure the highest standards of accountability and transparency, and will work to ensure that the
best use is made of the resources entrusted to us. Demonstrating results - The Annual Report I continue to maintain an unyielding focus on results. We must help countries develop sustainably; prevent and recover
from crises; promote democratic governance; and reduce poverty and meet the MDGs. It most certainly applies to our work promoting gender equality, including helping to expand women’s economic opportunities;
strengthen the legal status of women; and ensure that women’s voices are heard in decision-making. Gender equality is not
just an MDG in its own right. It is a crucial means for achieving the other Goals too. As the Annual Report before you demonstrates, UNDP is contributing to meaningful development results around the world.
We support governments to analyze and understand their national human development challenges. We help them to develop and
use diagnostic tools to improve national planning and budget allocations supportive of achieving development results. We partner
with countries to implement programmes which test approaches and apply and learn practical lessons. And, most important, we support the development of national capacities which can help sustain positive outcomes and increase
resilience to withstand shocks. Results like these take years and multiple partners to mature. In response to the Board’s request for outcome level reporting,
this year’s Annual Report adopts a new approach. It combines a high-level account of UNDP’s results across all focus areas with an in-depth analysis of UNDP’s contribution
to the achievement of six specific outcomes over a number of years. Overall, the pattern of national demand and response by UNDP is broadly consistent with that of last year. Provisional
programme delivery remained stable at $4.11 billion in 2009. Delivery to least developed countries increased to $1.7 billion
in 2009, or 42 per cent of overall expenditure. High on my priorities since my appointment has been sharpening UNDP’s focus on poverty reduction and achieving the MDGs.
Expenditures in this area stood at $1.18 billion last year, or 29 per cent of overall expenditure. Over the last decade, UNDP has helped to build popular support for the MDG agenda globally and nationally through development
dialogues and advocacy campaigns. The first relates to supporting national partners in their MDG assessment and planning efforts. Since 2005, with the support of UNDP, more than sixty countries have prepared MDG-based development plans or Poverty Reduction
Strategy Papers. This has helped to transform “vision” documents into strategies with targets and indicators. MDG-based costing methodologies have been used to identify the resources needed to achieve the Goals and galvanize national
support around sectoral plans. For example, Ethiopia’s development plan used a UNDP-supported needs assessment which helped
determine the allocation of resources. The second outcome relates to the implementation of inclusive national development programmes. Strengthening capacity for
local development and MDG achievement involves working with sub-national levels of government and civil society. In Mongolia, as just one example, UNDP and UNCDF have helped develop microfinance institutions, benefiting thousands of
rural entrepreneurs and people living in poverty. More than half the clients are women. The UNDP-Government of Brazil International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth, for example, supported Timor-Leste to scale
up its social protection schemes. In March I was able to see India’s Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in action. It provides a right
to a minimum of 100 days work a year, benefiting some 46 million eligible households, and has helped to protect the vulnerable
during the economic crisis. UNDP helped design and implement the scheme, and is helping to share this experience with others in the South. The third outcome highlighted relates to UNDP’s important role in halting and reversing the spread of HIV/AIDS. Between 2003 and 2008, UNDP was a principal recipient for Global Fund programmes in 34 countries. Through these programmes,
HIV counseling and testing was provided for 3.5 million people; 100,000 people living with HIV received antiretroviral treatment;
and almost seventeen million people were treated for malaria. UNDP has been able to transfer the principal recipient role to national institutions in 10 countries. Our responsibility
is not just to achieve immediate public health outcomes, but to strengthen the national capacity to do so, with the aim of
exiting our role as principal recipient when that capacity is in place. UNDP continues to focus intensely on helping countries deal with a range of environmental threats, including that of climate
change. We continue to call for policies to achieve development goals to be well integrated with those required to address climate
change. This is especially important given the significant financial resources it is estimated that developing countries need to
tackle climate change. The initial $30 billion agreed to in Copenhagen for 2010 – 2012 is a start. If fully materialized and spent wisely on adaptation
and mitigation, it can help both tackle climate change and achieve long-term development goals. The Annual Report examines the outcome of our work to strengthen the capacity of local institutions to address climate
change, manage the environment, and expand environment and energy services. Over the last five years, for instance, funding of more than $90 million has been leveraged by UNDP for the Pacific to
support the design and implementation of adaptation initiatives. With UNDP support for policy frameworks and financial mechanisms which promote energy efficiency, 44 countries avoided
about 26 million tons of CO2 emissions last year. The UN-REDD Programme, in which UNDP partners with UNEP and FAO, has helped prepare countries like Panama and Viet Nam
to benefit from forest carbon financing. Last month I attended the “Oslo Climate and Forest Conference”. A new interim REDD+ partnership was agreed to by 58 countries.
It aims at the rapid implementation of transparent and co-ordinated measures which would reduce deforestation and forest degradation.
Programme countries will look to UN-REDD and the World Bank to help them participate in REDD+, so that they can reduce
greenhouse gas emissions from their forests today and achieve development goals in a climate-compatible way. Underlying all development is the attainment of stability and security. On our crisis prevention and recovery mandate, the Annual Report focuses on outcomes related to helping countries prevent
and cope with natural disasters, and supporting post-crisis recovery. As natural disasters over the last few months have demonstrated, UNDP’s work to promote disaster risk reduction, build
resilience, avoid catastrophic losses, and secure development gains is so vital. Take the case of Bangladesh, where UNDP and other partners have been working to strengthen national capacities to reduce
the risks from disasters. In 1991, 140,000 people lost their lives when a deadly cyclone hit. In contrast, when Cyclone Sidr
of similar magnitude hit in 2007, an estimated 4,000 people were killed. While the number of deaths is still considerable,
progress has been made. When a crisis unfolds, UNDP supports government capacity at all levels, socio-economic development, and the co-ordination
of the recovery effort. UNDP also takes very seriously its work to support the involvement of women in peacebuilding processes, as we have done,
for example, in Colombia and Lebanon, and in combating sexual violence, as we have done in the Democratic Republic of the
Congo. Looking ahead, our challenge is to become more effective at identifying and resolving stresses as they emerge, before they
turn violent, and to work more strategically with our partners to build national capacities for crisis management. Our recovery work in Haiti, not covered by the Annual Report’s timeframe, deserves a special mention. Within days of the devastating earthquake, UNDP launched a series of early recovery initiatives. Our cash-for-work programme
has so far provided short-term jobs to around 100,000 Haitians, 40 per cent of them women. We also supported the post-disaster
needs assessment, the development of an aid management system, and the organization of the very successful donor conference
in New York on 31 March. Working together with all our partners, we will continue assisting the government there to realize its vision for a new
and better Haiti. Democratic governance is not one of the six outcomes reviewed this year, but it is a major component of UNDP’s work. While it is an end in itself, democratic governance also underpins the achievement of the MDGs, the management and prevention
of conflict, and the ability to respond to climate change. This area of our mandate claims the largest share of expenditures,
36 per cent, at $1.47 billion. Around the globe, UNDP supports countries in their efforts to be more accountable and responsive to their citizens. In recent years, UNDP has worked with over ninety countries, at their request, to strengthen their national human rights
institutions. We also implement initiatives to support the rule of law and access to justice in a similar number of countries. In Morocco, for instance, UNDP and UNIFEM are helping to strengthen national judicial capacities to enforce a family code
law which granted women greater equality and protection of their rights. Later this year the twentieth anniversary Human Development Report will be published. It aims to set out an agenda for keeping the human development concept relevant in our changing world, and will provide
valuable insights as we seek to help countries achieve their development results in the years ahead. The indications are that
this will be a stimulating report. UN Reform To remain relevant going forward, the UN development system needs to draw on its collective strengths to maximize the development
impact of its work. They guide the funds, programmes, and specialized agencies to work more at the policy, sector, and programme levels in
all countries. They prioritise support for the achievement of the MDGs and other internationally agreed development goals. They highlight the importance of the UNDG’s support to the ninety countries rolling UNDAFs over the next three years, where
we can clearly position our support behind national development priorities; to countries which are in or coming out of crisis;
and to the Delivering as One countries and those which are voluntarily adopting that approach. They also prioritise maximizing operational efficiency through harmonizing business practices and making more effective
use of common services. On behalf of the UN system, UNDP administers funds operating in various crisis and development contexts to support coherent
and effective UN operations at the country level. The Multi-Donor Trust Fund Office is currently administering $4.5 billion
across 32 multi-donor trust funds and more than twenty UN joint programmes in an accountable and transparent manner. Since the last Board meeting, I have visited two Delivering as One Pilot countries, Tanzania and Viet Nam, and also Papua
New Guinea, which has voluntarily adopted this approach. At the third intergovernmental meeting on Delivering as One last week in Hanoi, country-led evaluations prepared by the
pilot countries were presented for the first time. For that to be so, Delivering as One would require the full and unequivocal support of member states and the full UNDG. We now need to learn the lessons from the pilots and the voluntary adopters, and, consistent with our mandate, allow other
countries to benefit from them too. Additional countries continue to come forward to adopt this approach. The independent evaluation of the Delivering as One pilots as a group should begin soon. Its findings will inform inter-governmental
discussions on the future course of UN support to programme countries, including the General Assembly’s comprehensive policy
review in 2012. On the UNDG’s Management and Accountability System, by the end of 2009 UNDP had fulfilled each of its agency-specific commitments
in the Implementation Plan. For instance, UNDP undertook and finalized the revision of the roles and responsibilities of both the Resident Representative
and the Country Director functions. It has also put 52 Country Directors in place. Within the UNDG we are working to ensure that all agencies implement their commitments. The UNDG will be commissioning
an independent review to identify where we could all do better. In the meantime, if any issues relating to the implementation of this System are brought to my attention, I will act to
address them. The resolution, when adopted, will be of great importance to the UN’s operational activities for development, and we hope
that Member States can find common ground to move forward. The MDG Summit Let me now say a little about the MDG Summit this September. UNDP has a positive, can-do message : the Goals can be met.
There is a range of tried and tested policies which ensure MDG progress. If they are backed by strong global partnerships,
the world can achieve the MDGs. Now, with the 2015 deadline only five years away, political support is needed to re-energize the global MDG effort. I urge
you to ensure high level participation from your respective Governments. The world also needs a concrete MDG action agenda to accelerate progress and reach the Goals. Over the last few months UNDP has been preparing a strong evidence base for the Summit on what is working to achieve the
MDGs. Together with other UN agencies, we have helped over thirty governments prepare in depth national MDG reports. Drawing on them, we have prepared an “International Assessment” of what it will take to achieve the MDGs by 2015. Released
last week, it highlights common MDG success factors, and recurring national and international constraints on MDG achievement.
It suggests ways in which all countries can support faster MDG progress and respond effectively to shocks and build resilience. While any action agenda must be adapted to each country’s unique context, our analysis and experience, thus far, highlights
eight common areas and opportunities for priority action. 1. We all need to support country-led development. To accelerate and sustain progress, development strategies must be locally-owned and based on broad national consensus.
Development can thrive when a country’s institutions are responsive and accountable, with the right capacities to implement
MDG policies and programmes. 2. We need to foster inclusive economic growth. Economic growth which is job-rich, and driven by increases in agricultural productivity and rural development, results
in rapid reductions in poverty and hunger. A fair distribution of income, assets and opportunities is important, as is a global
trade deal which works for poor people and poor countries. We are also responding to the Board’s call for UNDP to integrate into its work the ILO’s Global Jobs Pact. 3. Expanding opportunities for women and girls is essential, and a key part of the MDG breakthrough strategy the world
needs. Investments in women and girls are not just the right thing to do. They also have intergenerational benefits, and will
drive progress across all Goals. 4. We need to target investments in health and education, in clean water and sanitation, and in the professionals who run
these services. This not only saves lives. It lays the foundations for inclusive and sustained economic growth. Healthy and educated people
are simply better able to improve their own lives. 5. We need to scale-up social protection and employment programmes and other targeted interventions. These can be enormously
helpful in fighting poverty and developing resilience to present and future shocks. 6. Expanding access to energy is so important. As well, in today’s world, growth based on reduced carbon footprints
is also vital for our shared planet. To achieve that, a climate deal which generates significant funding for low-carbon energy and development solutions is essential. 7. Many of the resources needed to achieve the MDGs have to be raised and allocated effectively within developing countries.
Scarce resources must be spent well. 8. The international community must deliver on its ODA commitments, and improve the predictability and effectiveness of
aid. Well targeted and predictable ODA is a critical catalyst for meeting the MDGs, and for helping countries to develop the
capacities and programmes needed to meet the Goals and to attract private investment and the new sources of climate finance. UNDP has developed a new diagnostic framework to support MDG breakthrough strategies, and it is now being piloted in a
number of countries. It can guide governments and development and UN Country Team partners through a process to identify both
constraints on MDG achievement and solutions to speed up and sustain progress. To reach the MDGs by 2015, we must together embark on five years of accelerated progress. Conclusion I thank all Members of the Board for their support in sustaining and guiding UNDP as we advance our change agenda. With your help, I am confident that we can be an even more relevant, responsive, effective, and efficient organization
and trusted leader of the UN development system. |
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