United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The United Nations Development Programme is the global network for change that connects countries with the knowledge, experience and resources to help people build better lives.
Creation and representation
Presence in 176 countries, working with them to help them find their own solutions to global and national development challenges. While strengthening their local capacity, countries benefit from the expertise of UNDP staff and the wide circle of partners.
The United Nations Development Program, created in 1965 , belongs to the United Nations system and its function is to contribute to improving the quality of life of nations.
UNDP advocates for change and provides the knowledge, experience and resources to help people build better lives.
Areas in which UNDP develops its work
World leaders have committed to achieving the Millennium Development Goals, including the overarching goal of halving poverty by 2015. The UNDP network links and coordinates global and national efforts to achieve these goals. Its goal is to help countries develop and share solutions to meet the challenges they face:
- Democratic governance
- Poverty reduction
- Crisis prevention and recovery
- Energy and the environment
UNDP helps developing countries use aid efficiently. All activities work towards protecting human rights and realizing women’s potential.
In its Strategic Plan 2008-2011 , UNDP has identified lines of action for each of these areas of practice .
Components of the main program
1. Eradicate poverty and achieve development goals.
- Promoting inclusive growth, gender equality and achieving the MDGs.
- Promoting inclusive globalization.
- Mitigating the effects of HIV/AIDS , tuberculosis and malaria on human development.
2. Democratic governance.
- Promote inclusive participation.
- Strengthen responsible and responsive government institutions.
- Base democratic governance on international principles.
3. Crisis prevention and recovery.
- Building capacities in conflict prevention and disaster risk management.
- Ensuring improved government functions post-crisis.
- Restore foundations for local development.
4. Environment and sustainable development.
- Mainstreaming of environment and energy.
- Mobilization of environmental financial sources.
- Promoting adaptation to climate change.
- Expanding access to energy and environmental services for the poor.
Among the special funds and programmes administered by UNDP are:
- The United Nations Capital Development Fund, which provides capital grants to poverty reduction programmes in least developed countries.
- The United Nations Development Fund for Women, which provides direct financial and technical support to the poorest countries in order to promote innovative projects that contribute to the sustainable and equitable development of women.
- United Nations Volunteers, a group of technically qualified individuals who provide critically important practical knowledge to developing countries.
UNDP Directorate
UNDP is headed by the Administrator, who is accountable to the Executive Board, on which donor and recipient countries, as well as all regions of the world, are represented. Among senior officials in the United Nations system, the UNDP Administrator is the third most senior position, after the Secretary-General and the Under-Secretary-General. He or she is appointed by the Secretary-General and confirmed by the General Assembly for a four-year term.
Helen Clark assumed her duties as Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme on 17 April 2009 , the first woman to hold that position. In that capacity, she is also Chair of the United Nations Development Group, a committee comprising the heads of all UN funds, programmes and departments working in the field of development.
Millennium Development Goals
World leaders committed in 2000 to achieving the Millennium Development Goals, including the key target of halving poverty by 2015.
Its goal is to help countries develop and share solutions to meet the challenges of democratic governance, poverty reduction, crisis prevention and recovery, energy and the environment, information and communications technology (ICT) and HIV /AIDS . Clear goals have also been set to reduce disease, illiteracy and discrimination against women.
Democratic governance
An increasing number of countries are struggling to establish governance in a democratic context. They are faced with the challenge of developing institutions and processes that are more responsive to the needs of ordinary citizens, including the poor.
UNDP brings people together in nations and around the world, creating partnerships and sharing ways to foster participation, accountability and effectiveness at all levels.
Countries are helped to strengthen their electoral and legislative systems, improve access to justice and public administration, and develop greater capacity to deliver basic services to those who need them most.
Poverty reduction
Developing countries are striving to create their own national strategies to eradicate poverty, based on local needs and priorities. UNDP promotes these national solutions, and helps ensure their effectiveness.
It sponsors innovative pilot projects; connects countries with best practices and global resources; promotes the role of women in development; and brings together governments, civil society and external donors to coordinate their efforts.
One strategy that may work is to strengthen the education levels of each of the inhabitants of a country, so that the State is concerned with verifying whether each of the school-age children are really studying, becoming literate and not working.
Crisis prevention and recovery
Many countries are increasingly vulnerable to violent conflict or natural disasters that can wipe out decades of development and deepen poverty and inequality. Through its global network, UNDP seeks to broker and share innovative approaches to crisis prevention, early warning and conflict resolution. UNDP is present in almost every developing country, so that when the next crisis strikes, UNDP will be there to help bridge the gap between emergency relief and long-term development.
Information and Communications Technology (ICT)
ICTs are an increasingly powerful tool for participating in global markets; promoting political accountability; improving the delivery of basic services; and enhancing local development opportunities. But without innovative ICT policies, many people in developing countries – especially the poor – will be left behind. UNDP helps countries draw on expertise and best practices from around the world to develop strategies that expand access to ICTs and harness them for development. UNDP also relies on ICT solutions to make the most effective use of its own global network.
HIV/AIDS
To prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS and reduce its consequences, developing countries need to mobilize all levels of government and civil society. As a trusted development partner, UNDP advocates for placing HIV/AIDS at the heart of national planning and budgeting; helps build national capacity to manage initiatives that include people and institutions not normally directly involved in public health issues; and promotes decentralized responses that support community-level initiatives. Because HIV/ AIDS is a global problem, UNDP supports these national efforts by providing knowledge, resources and best practices from around the world.
Human Development Reports
UNDP also carries out extensive advocacy work. The annual Human Development Report, commissioned by UNDP , focuses global debate on key development issues, providing new measurement tools, innovative analysis and often controversial policy proposals.
It is guided by the belief that development is ultimately “a process of expanding people’s capacity for choice,” not simply a question of national income.
The independent team of experts who produced the report draw on input from a global network of leading figures from academia, government and civil society who provide data, insights and best practices. Developing countries and their international partners use the Report to calibrate the findings and shape new policies.
The Report’s global analytical framework and broad focus are continued in national and local human development reports, also supported by UNDP. As of 2003 , more than 420 National Human Development Reports have been published in 135 countries.
These reports are produced by national experts and intellectuals, who draw on UNDP’s global network for advice and inspiration; their success demonstrates how quality research and advocacy can spark policy debates, bring urgent issues to political attention, and help countries develop their own solutions to development challenges.
UNDP and Cuba cooperation
The program and Cuba have maintained a systematic cooperation with more than 50 years of presence in the country. In May 2024, it was working on 35 projects linked to the sustainable development agenda in all provinces of the country.
This has been reflected in Cuba’s participation in a significant group of national programmes, including those related to food and nutritional education, as well as natural disasters. Cuba is also committed to the 2030 Agenda.
Also, a methodology promoted by the UNDP from the United Nations System in conjunction with other institutions (ECLAC , in the Cuban case) to determine where the opportunities, gaps, and institutional capacity needs are to channel resources. Specifically, with the Central American Bank for Economic Integration , CABEI, a formula was achieved to be able to finance development objectives in Cuba, particularly linked to the biopharmaceutical industry , one of the priority areas established by the country. [1]
In various statements, the highest authorities of the program have considered the Caribbean country as a trusted partner to advance development programs.
On 15 and 16 May 2024 , UNDP convened the Conference on Financing for Development in Havana , a dialogue between international financial institutions, cooperation actors and government agencies to finance development, particularly in the Cuban context. Together with UNDP, this event was convened by the Ministry of Economy and Planning and the Central Bank of Cuba .
The Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean of the UNDP, Michelle Muschett , traveled to the Cuban capital, where she developed an intense agenda that included a meeting with President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez .
The Under Secretary General stated that Cuba is one of the countries with the greatest clarity regarding its development vision and its priorities in terms of public policies, but that it faces challenges that go even beyond global challenges, referring to the blockade that this country suffers.
In June 2024 , a socialization workshop was convened to develop a project with the support of the UNDP digital office. The project was part of the implementation of the Cuban e-government strategy and the Digital Transformation Policy . Digital transformation was identified as one of the strategic accelerators of the 2030 Agenda , and was developed within the framework of the Articulated Platform for Comprehensive Territorial Development (Padit). This platform was made up of national institutions, territorial governments and other organizations, to encourage and promote decentralized and dynamic territorial development and was recognized as a public policy to promote local development in the country.
The stated objectives of the project were to strengthen institutional capacities to promote technological innovation in the design of digital services for citizens, the creation of a secure online space for the management of procedures and public services, the promotion of participation and the closing of gender gaps through digital literacy and communication. In addition to the UNDP digital office, the Cuban Ministry of Communications (Mincom) and the National Institute of Economic Research (INIE) of the Ministry of Economy and Planning participated in the dissemination workshop , and they began to work together on the project.