Report on the UNDAF-India presentation
to the African Heads of Mission in New Delhi

At the request of the co-ordinator of the Africa Group (a forum of African Heads of Mission in New Delhi), the UN Country Team with the Planning Commission organised a presentation on the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) in India on 5 April 2000. Numerous countries were represented, including UNDAF pilot countries such as Kenya and Zimbabwe, and countries selected for the roll-out phase of UNDAF such as Burkina Faso and Uganda.

Dr Pronob Sen, Senior Advisor, Planning Commission, Government of India joined the UN Country Team and spoke on the Government of India’s participation, collaboration and support for the UNDAF process. He emphasised that the UNDAF in India could bring about fundamental improvements in the UN system and government partnership for India’s development.

In their presentation, the UN Country Team described the rationale for UNDAF, the process of extensive consultations and dialogue with various stakeholders, including partner Ministries, civil society and the international development community that marked the selection of the two UNDAF focus areas in India, the identification of the UNDAF operational objectives, actions for adding value under UNDAF, including the harmonisation of planning cycles and finally, examples of UNDAF in action.

The Ambassador of the Democratic Republic of Somalia, as the senior-most representative present, chaired the discussions that followed the presentation. India and the UN Country Team was commended for selecting the objectives of promoting gender equality and strengthening decentralisation. These were identified as themes of universal importance, of special relevance to some African countries and were considered particularly critical for India’s development.

Other key issues that emerged in the interaction included the role of the World Bank in the UNDAF process, the cost savings and efficiency gains from the UNDAF, and the involvement of the private sector. The UN system was urged to move towards an ever greater emphasis on social and human development and to motivate donors to focus on key development issues.

The UN Country Team in India was lauded for setting a good precedent in greater collaboration and coordination. It was felt that coordination between UN organisations was urgently required although the Group recognised the problems of working together with the different existing operational procedures at the Headquarters level of the different UN organisations.

With many African countries involved in the UNDAF, it was hoped that there would be further opportunities to exchange information and share ideas and lessons learned, for instance, in the area of HIV/AIDS and gender budgeting and auditing.

5 April 2000, 3.00 p.m., UNICEF Conference Hall,
UNICEF Building, 73 Lodi Estate, New Delhi - India