Sierra Leone Multi-Donor Trust Fund

Overview

The United Nations organizations, agencies and programmes working in Sierra Leone, in recognition of their joint responsibility for a fully integrated peacebuilding mission as called for by the UN Security Council, have agreed to combine their efforts and resources behind a Joint Vision in support of the Government of Sierra Leone and its people. Through the Joint Vision for Sierra Leone, the UN defines the common priorities that will guide its activities and outline a set of underlying criteria and comparative advantages which will shape its programmes and projects through a conflict-sensitive approach. The Joint Vision sets out a number of joint planning, implementation and coordination mechanisms with the aim of enhancing the impact of the United Nations’ assistance as part of the international communities’ efforts of consolidating peace and promoting sustainable development in Sierra Leone.

The Joint Vision defines the UN’s contribution to implementing the Government of Sierra Leone’s Agenda for Change (Second Poverty Reduction Strategy, PRSP II, 2008-2012), to accomplishing the mandate given to the UN by the Security Council and to supporting the goals and work of the UN Peacebuilding Commission. With the Joint Vision, the UN intends to put into practice the main principles of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness under the leadership of the Government. In parallel to the Agenda for Change, the Joint Vision will cover the initial period from 2009 to 2012. The total resources required for implementing the Joint Vision over the four years is estimated to be US$ 349 million, of which US$ 204 million (59%) would be required as new funding.

The Joint Vision document establishes the general framework for the UN’s cooperation with the Government of Sierra Leone. The benchmarks of the five priority areas, programme outlines and joint programme implementation and operational support mechanisms are described in the annexes to the document.

The overall aim of the Sierra Leone Multi-Donor Trust Fund (Sierra Leone MDTF) is to move towards an enhanced state of coherence and efficiency for the UN’s programmes and projects at the country level, whilst creating a joint funding window that corresponds to and supports the programmatic integration that the UN is seeking to accomplish under the Joint Vision. The SL-MDTF is consistent with the Paris Declaration on Aid Efficiency, including national ownership, alignment with national priorities, harmonization and coordination. Governed by the Sierra Leone MDTF Terms of References, it also responds to the Delivering as One Initiative and the Secretary General’s efforts to improve the integration of UN political, development and humanitarian activities in the UN system through an increasing network of integrated UN field offices.

The Sierra Leone MDTF is administered by the Multi-Donor Trust Fund Office (MDTF Office) of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in accordance with its financial regulations and rules.