Project summary

For decades, the Highlands Region of Papua New Guinea has suffered from recurrent inter-group violence, displacement, gender-based violence and sorcery accusation-related violence, weak access to justice and essential services, youth exclusion, limited economic opportunities, and growing vulnerability to climate and disaster risks. 

The United Nations Highlands Joint Programme Phase 2 (HJP2) is an area-based initiative that aims to address these interconnected drivers of conflict, fragility and underdevelopment in Papua New Guinea's Hela, Southern Highlands, Enga and Western Highlands Provinces. 

The programme works across the humanitarian-development-peace nexus, linking immediate support with longer-term peacebuilding, inclusive governance, service delivery, livelihoods and resilience. It uses community and provincial planning systems to ensure that local priorities guide interventions and that programme gains are embedded in existing institutions. The programme's interventions particularly target vulnerable groups, including women, young people, persons with disabilities and displaced populations living in the Highlands Region.

Project outcomes

The programme focuses on delivering four integrated groups of outputs, which are:

1. Strengthening inclusive local planning, improving access to essential services and livelihood opportunities, and fostering an enabling environment for local economic development. 
2. Supporting community mediation of conflict, building peace infrastructure, improving access to justice, strenghtening survivor-centred GBV/SARV services and promoting positive narratives for peace. 
3. Improving the capacity of local communities to prepare, respond and adapt to climae change induced natural disasters, and supporting gender- and youth-led initiative to build climate resilience.
4. Providing strategic programme coordination, revitalizing provincial coordination bodies, and generating data and evidence for adaptive programming, monitoring, learning and policy dialogue.

Activities are implemented through common priority locations and existing provincial and community mechanisms.

Expected outcomes

The programme is expected to produce more empowered and resilient communities, stronger local governance and improved access to inclusive services and economic opportunities. Communities and authorities will have better mechanisms to prevent and resolve conflict, reduce violence against vulnerable groups, and promote social cohesion. Provincial institutions and communities will be better prepared to anticipate, manage and recover from climate and disaster risks. Women, youth, persons with disabilities and displaced people will participate more meaningfully in planning, peacebuilding and development. Stronger provincial coordination, shared evidence and integrated UN delivery will improve programme effectiveness, local ownership and the sustainability of peace and development gains across the four provinces.

Location: Hela, Southern Highlands, Enga and Western Highlands Provinces of Papua New Guinea

Focus areas: Peacebuilding and social cohesion; GBV/SARV prevention and response; livelihoods and local economic development; climate resilience and disaster risk management

Partners: IOM, UNFPA, UNICEF, FAO, ILO, UNCDF, UN Women, Department of National Planning and Monitoring, provincial, district and Local-Level Governments in the targeted provinces, civil society, faith-based organizations, women and youth groups, private-sector actors

Donor: Papua New Guinea UN Country Fund II, supported by New Zealand and Australia; UN Peacebuilding Fund.

Budget: 

Total indicative programme architecture: USD 18.35 million, comprising:

HJP II core programme: USD 9.45 million 
Local Economic Empowerment and Development (LEED) component: USD 3.90 million 
Peacebuilding Fund component: USD 3.00 million 
GBV/SARV component: USD 2.00 million 

Project duration: January 2026 – April 2028 

Contact:

Zoe Pelter
UNDP Assistant Resident Representative (Peace & Governance)
Zoe.pelter@undp.org 

Cristino Pedraza Lopez
Highlands Joint Programme Coordinator
cristino.pedraza@undp.org