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UNDP
is the UN's global development network, advocating for change and
connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help
people build a better life. We are on the ground in 166 countries,
working with them on their own solutions to global and national
development challenges. As they develop local capacity, they draw on
the people of UNDP and our wide range of partners.
World leaders have pledged to achieve the Millennium Development
Goals, including the overarching goal of cutting poverty in half by
2015. UNDP's network links and coordinates global and national
efforts to reach these Goals. Our focus is helping countries build
and share solutions to the challenges of:
UNDP helps developing countries attract and use aid effectively. In
all our activities, we encourage the protection of human rights and
the
empowerment of women.
The annual
Human
Development Report, commissioned by UNDP, focuses the
global debate on key development issues, providing new measurement
tools, innovative analysis and often controversial policy proposals.
The global Report's analytical framework and inclusive approach
carry over into regional, national and local Human Development
Reports, also supported by UNDP.
In each country office, the UNDP Resident Representative normally
also serves as the
Resident Coordinator of development activities
for the United Nations system as a whole. Through such coordination, UNDP seeks to ensure the most effective use of UN and international
aid resources.
UNDP in Lesotho
The
Kingdom of Lesotho faces a multiple crisis caused by the nexus of
HIV&AIDS pandemic, deep-rooted poverty and chronic food insecurity
that is undermining past gains in socio-economic and human
development, and threatens the very existence of the state and
people of Lesotho.
Food insecurity and poverty are clearly fuelling
the HIV&AIDS crisis, with hunger driving people to increasingly high
risk behaviour, greater vulnerability, and in turn, lowering their
resistance to infection. Underpinning this mix of challenges, is the
opportunity for advocating and supporting responsive governance at
all levels of society, in order to provide and enabling environment
for sustainable development.
Country Office
Achievements
In recent years, some of the notable accomplishments by the
Country Office include:
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Using its position
as an impartial broker, UNDP Lesotho has put numerous structures in
place to develop capacity for multi-sector responses and the
promotion of an enabling human rights environment to reverse the
course of the HIV & AIDS epidemic. Using HIV & AIDS as an entry
point for strengthening good governance and enhancing effective
service delivery, UNDP works at three levels: the national level;
the central level; as well as the community level to scale up the
national response to HIV & AIDS.
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Following the Local
Government Elections in April 2005. UNDP has offered support to the
Ministry of Local Government, through a two-year project, to plan
and conduct training programmes for the Councillors to familiarise
them with their roles and provide them with the various skills they
need to carry out their mandate effectively. In addition, a
Democratic Governance Thematic Trust Fund project was implemented,
which contributed to strengthening community participation in local
governance. The Country Office is working closely with the Ministry
of Local Government to ensure that the local communities get closely
involved in the management of their own development affairs.
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Through the
electoral assistance project that was designed to strengthen the
capacity of the Independent Electoral Commission to plan and conduct
the election, UNDP played an instrumental role in preparing for the
February 2007 National Assembly Election. UNDP’s support to the IEC
contributed to the creation of an enabling environment for holding
credible and legitimate democratic elections in accordance with SADC
principles, enhancement of the IEC’s capacity to organize democratic
elections that have the full confidence of all the contending
parties and the electorate as well as building collaborative
partnerships with competent role players in the areas of
elections-related research, training and facilitation.
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One of the key
achievements for Lesotho in 2006 was the successful 9th Round Table
Conference in November 2006 whose theme was “Sustainable Economic
Growth and Poverty Reduction”.
Programme information
UNDP’s programme of support to the Kingdom of Lesotho for the period
2005 to 2007 ensures an integrated response to these complex and
rapidly worsening development challenges. To effectively address the
challenge posed by the HIV&AIDS pandemic, UNDP’s efforts will be
geared towards Advocacy Networks development for multi-stakeholder
transformational leadership and communication as well as
corestreaming
HIV&AIDS Interventions into development planning
instruments and activities of line ministries and local structures.
The environmental challenge will be addressed through strengthening
capacity for promoting land management and bio-diversity
conservation for sustainable livelihoods. UNDP will also support the
design and implementation of national and local strategies for
sustainable development within the framework of the Poverty
Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP). Clean energy technologies will be
promoted to reduce emissions, through energy efficiency, renewable
energy, and technology demonstration. UNDP will enhance its emphasis
on a more comprehensive reforestation and soil conservation
strategy.
UNDP’s democratic governance programme is focused on strengthening
the internal organization of the legislature, with training for
parliamentary members and staff for better oversight roles,
strengthening national decentralisation strategies as well as
supporting public sector reform, transparency and accountability.
Under this sub-programme UNDP provides support for strengthening the
oversight role of Parliament through assisting the Office of the
Speaker, supporting the establishment of Portfolio Committees and a
Parliamentary Reform Committee. A major challenge is the process of
transformation of the public sector to help it meet the development
needs of the country and lead to profound change in the culture,
structure and decision making systems of the public service in
Lesotho.
UNDP ensures that national institutional capacities are strengthened
for coordinating more effectively the response to the combined
crises of HIV&AIDS, induced food insecurity and chronic poverty.
This includes the strengthening of national institutional capacities
for implementing activities necessary to achieve the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs). As part of the organization’s
“scorekeeper” role to measure the progress towards the achievement
of the MDGs, support will continue to be provided for monitoring the
goals for the purposes of public advocacy and resource mobilization.
Resources
UNDP is funded from its own regular resources, other United
Nations sources of financing, and from bilateral and other
external donors. Of the $ 5,807,000 million allocated to UNDP-Lesotho's
projects:
• 24% was from bilateral donors;
• 65% from UNDP's regular resources, BCPR and thematic trust
funds;
• 10% from other funds; and
• 1% from other UN agencies
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