Living up to Commitments
The burgeoning financial crisis that came to a dramatic head in September 2008 after more than a year of volatile food, energy and commodity prices compounded a series of shocks already being felt around the world. As daily headlines chart the ups and downs of stock prices and chronicle the failures of financial institutions and industrial giants, the international community must take a step back and examine what is at stake for the hundreds of millions in developing countries who had benefited from the strong growth of the past decade, as well as those who continued to struggle even during that period of global economic expansion, mired in abject poverty.
As UNDP continues to support developing countries as they address the current economic and financial crisis, it is staying true to the shared sets of values as set out by the Millennium Declaration. UNDP thus remains committed to ensuring that our policy advice, technical support and advocacy for strengthening coherence is aimed at one end result: real improvements in people’s lives and in the choices and opportunities open to them.
UNDP’s commitment to capacity development – or the “how” of development – is the organization’s overarching service in the 166 countries where it has a presence. Once needs or constraints are identi?ed – always in consultation with national governments and various local and international development partners – UNDP works with its partners in drawing up a plan of action for capacity development: it gives people, governments, institutions and communities the tools and training required to take charge of addressing their own needs in a way that can be sustainable. The demand from developing countries for capacity development support, especially in the area of developing local services increased dramatically in 2008 as countries faced the fallout from the food, fuel and ?nancial crises. As a result, UNDP responded to requests to facilitate capacity assessments and diagnostics in 65 programme countries in 2008.
