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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
Lesotho is a small, landlocked country with a population of about
1.9 million, limited natural resources and a narrow production and
export base. Aside from subsistence agriculture, the garment sector
plays a critical role in generating employment, output and exports.
The economy is highly open, with imports amounting to about 90% of
GDP and depends heavily on inflows of worker’s remittances and
receipts from the Southern African Customs Union (SACU). The global
economic downturn has however caused a considerable slow down
amounting to stagnation in these two areas. Lesotho’s economic
growth in 2009 is estimated to fall to 1.4% from 4.5% in 2008.
Lesotho’s vulnerability stems from a significant decline (about
37.7%in 2009/2010) in SACU revenue receipts, the mainstay of
government revenue, which will undermine the Government’s efforts to
accelerate economic growth and poverty reduction. The progress in
instituting reforms and programmes that address poverty, accelerate
economic growth and improve governance and democracy, including
public service delivery could also consequently slow down. The key
development challenges are high poverty levels and unemployment,
food insecurity and malnutrition, one of the highest HIV and AIDS
prevalence in the world and environmental degradation that
exacerbates the vulnerability of the population.
In response to the economic crisis and the development challenges
the Government has prioritised growth and investment in productive
sectors and strengthening of social protection initiatives to
mitigate the direct and indirect impact of the global crisis
Country Office
Achievements
In support of- and in collaboration with- its partners, some of the notable accomplishments by the
Country Office in 2009 include:
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UNDP–supported intervention has
helped sustain the momentum of inter-party dialogue on the
allocation of the proportional representation seats. It has also
inspired the subsequent church leaders’ (CCL) mediation initiative
including provision of a Peace and Development Advisor who is
providing technical backstopping to the CCL team.
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Human rights training programmes for
the army, police, and security services and prisons staff provided
important sensitization and human rights advocacy for a core of
important state agencies that play a front-line contribution
towards human rights protection.
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Through the Office of the Prime
Minister the 2010 contingency plan was developed in order for the
country to prepare for the onset of any natural disasters,
bringing together all major stakeholders to plan and prepare for
predicted emergency drought in 2010.
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A framework for delivering PV solar
energy to unreached rural villages that are remote from the
national electricity grid has been underway for 2 years – this
year, due to UNDPs continued programmes with renewable energy, the
Department of Energy (DoE), under the Ministry of Natural
Resources, has reinstated the Rural Electrification Unit to fund
and be responsible for all renewable energy initiatives in the
country.
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Through long term UNDP engagement in
the area of waste management with Maseru City Council the city of
Maseru has been successful in implementing the guidelines for
public private partnerships for garbage collection.
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SIYB trainers provided
entrepreneurship training for 685 youth, of which 239 were orphans
and vulnerable youth (OVCs). Despite challenges in micro-financing
273 enterprises were set up by the trainees, providing employment
for 437 people. OVCs managed to establish 70 businesses with some
support from the government.
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With support from UNDP, the Bureau
of Statistics (BoS) has developed its National Strategy for
Development Statistics (NSDS) and eight institutions have been
capacitated in the first phase of development. Support was also
provided to BoS to produce relevant, accurate and timely data on a
quarterly basis to facilitate formulation and monitoring of policy
programmes and evaluation of development programmes.
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UNDP has collaborated with the
Government in establishing a National Monitoring Evaluation System
and through this the UNDP has managed to position itself
favourably at the table of the Direct Budget Support partners.
This will allow the UNDP and the UN to closely follow this process
and ensure continued relevance of the system in this changing aid
environment.
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UNDP supported the organisational
review of the Lesotho Network of People Living with HIV & AIDS (LENEPWHA),
as the organisation was undergoing serious administrative and
management challenges, which were threatening its existence and
development. This led to a more strengthened partnership with the
organisation as the Community Capacity Enhancement initiative was
then supported and implemented in collaboration with LENEPWHA due
to its comparative advantage in terms of community based support
structures.
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In collaboration with UNFPA, a Joint
‘Gender Based Violence‘ project has been developed to support the
Ministry of Gender, Youth, Sports & Recreation to address gender
based violence (GBV) and support capacity building initiatives on
the prevention of GBV and HIV . The Ministry of Justice & Human
Rights was also supported in a number of initiatives including
CEDAW national reporting. Maseru City Council was also supported
to conduct a Capacity Assessment of assets and needs for
individuals, institutions and service sectors for the
implementation of gender equality focused pro poor service
delivery partnerships and to strengthen Government to put in place
permissive regulations (including affirmative action) to support
implementation.
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The Joint UN Programme of Support on
AIDS was finalised and launched with UNDP as the Administrative
Agent for the programme, making it another milestone achieved in
terms of the UN in Lesotho Delivering as One. This was a very
welcome development by the Government and other development
partners as it does facilitate joint planning and less
fragmentation in terms of the UN’s support.
Programme information
UNDP’s programme of support to the Kingdom of Lesotho for the period
2008 to 2012 ensures an integrated response to these complex and
rapidly worsening development challenges.
UNDP remains committed to ensuring
that our policy advice, technical support and advocacy is aimed at
one end result: real improvements in people’s lives and in the
choices and opportunities open to them. With regard to our
commitment of providing technical and advisory support, UNDP as an
integral part of the support of the UN system provided to Lesotho,
concentrate its efforts on the following four focus areas:
Democratic Governance: the
programme focuses on supporting consolidation of democracy, respect
for human rights and basic freedoms, and promotion of transparent,
accountable and effective governance at all levels, with special
emphasis on capacity strengthening of key governance institutions.
Environment
and Energy: The programme focuses on strengthening the
capacity of the Government of Lesotho to address environmental
challenges at global, national and community levels, seeking out and
sharing best practices, providing innovative policy advice and
facilitating establishment of strategic partnerships for sustainable
livelihoods and human settlements. Notably, strengthening national
and local capacity to adapt to the effects of climate change, to
which Lesotho is particularly vulnerable, is an important emerging
area of support
HIV & AIDS: under the Joint UN
Programme of Support, UNDP Lesotho helps develop capacity for
multi-sector responses and the promotion of an enabling human rights
environment to reverse the course of the HIV & AIDS epidemic
Poverty and food security: the
programme aims to strengthen national statistical capacities for
monitoring poverty and progress towards the achievement of the MDGs.
Furthermore, UNDP promotes economic empowerment of the poor through
its youth employment and trade programmes. Under this portfolio,
UNDP also
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. In 2009, of the $ 4,298,000 million allocated to UNDP-Lesotho's
projects:
24.8% from bilateral donors;
0.8% from Government cost sharing;
14.1% from the Global Environment
Facility (GEF)
50.0%
from UNDP's regular resources, BCPR and thematic trust
funds;
9.0% from other trust funds;and
1.2% from other UN agencies.
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