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The UN Country Team, with the Planning Commission organised a presentation on the UN Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) – India for representatives of the European Union (EU) missions in India. A number of members of the European Union and the European Commission were represented at the presentation. Welcoming the participants, the Resident Coordinator of the UN Development System in India, Dr Brenda Gael McSweeney stated that although UNDAF is part of the global United Nations Reform programme, each country has a unique UNDAF based on country priorities. In India, the Government’s Ninth Five-Year Plan, which is the country’s comprehensive framework for development formed the basis of the UNDAF. The UNDAF would assist the UN system to fulfil its pledge to make a significant contribution to reduce poverty by half by 2015. Dr Rohini Nayyar, Senior Advisor, Planning Commission, Government of India spoke of the Government’s collaboration and participation in the UNDAF. She described the UNDAF in India as a dynamic process which will eventually lead to fundamental improvements in the concept and modality of UN-host Government partnership in the process of India’s development. She commended the UN system and partner Ministries for choosing gender and decentralisation as its focus areas, as these are critical development challenges for the country. She highlighted the challenges of removing cultural, social and economic handicaps faced by women in India and underlined the importance of gender issues informing the activities of every UN organisation in India. She wished the UN system every success in reinventing its role and contributing to the development efforts of the country and reiterated the Government’s support for the UNDAF process in India. The UN Country Team elaborated on the rationale for UNDAF, the UNDAF process, on the consultations and dialogue with stakeholders including Government, civil society and the international development community, the objectives of the UNDAF in India – promoting gender equality and strengthening decentralisation, the proposed action plan under UNDAF and examples of UNDAF in action. Portugal, as President of the EU initiated the discussion session by thanking the UN System for organising the presentation. The presentation had provided a timely opportunity for donors to appreciate better the development activities of the UN System in India prior to the India Development Forum to be held in Paris on 23-24 May 2000. Several issues were raised during the discussion - on pooling of resources, the significance of NGO participation, monitoring and evaluation criteria for UNDAF and the ability to identify value added under UNDAF and coordination within the UN system. It was emphasised that the UNDAF is a common framework, not a common programme. UN organisations are working towards harmonisation of planning cycles within the UN System and with the Government’s Five-Year Plans. A consultation process amongst UN organisations while preparing strategies for next programme cycles has also been iniated. There may be some joint programmes which may involve "resource sharing", for example, in the Government of India-UN system Community Based Primary Education programme. However, in most cases, UNDAF should lead to comprehensive and harmonious programming with the focus areas of gender and decentralisation informing the activities of each UN organisation. Every organisation should lend a unique perspective to these issues leading to the creation of greater synergy in action. Examples of working together were highlighted. For instance, the Inter-Agency Working Group on Gender had pooled the technical expertise of different UN organisations to ensure that gender perspectives in different spheres, from reproductive health, employment generation to food insecurity are reflected in the Census 2001, which is used as the statistical basis for the planning blueprint. There are similar plans for working together for assisting in engendering the 10th Five-Year Plan. It was suggested that each organisation could work through its nodal ministries to contribute to the inputs to the Plan. In addition to working together, each organisation has begun examining its programmes through a gender and decentralisation lens. WHO, for example, has initiatives on gender in health and is building local capacity for collecting, analysing and acting upon data surveillance on health issues. UNCTAD has begun a programme to leverage and link micro-credit agencies and women’s self-help groups. Another important activity is its work on examining the impact of WTO on Small and Medium Enterprises which operate at the local level. It was suggested that the UN system should focus on creating a common vision and approach to development issues. Regarding NGO participation, the UN Country Team recalled that the NGOS had been ‘lively’ voices in the UNDAF consultation process, particularly in the Future Search Workshop held in 1999 and had provided useful ideas on the vision for the UN in the next five years. The level of involvement of NGOs varies for UN organisations based on mandate and organisational structure. Some organisations can work directly with NGOs, but others route their programmes through the Government. It was suggested that there should be greater documentation of NGOs and their work to facilitate their involvement in UNDAF activities. There is also an urgent need to delineate the interface between NGOs and Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs). The comparative advantage and the role of the NGOs in relation to the activities of the PRIs need to be clarified. NGOs do have a vital role in initiating pilot projects and innovative interventions for widespread replication by the Government. For the polio eradication drive, field level inter-agency coordination meetings including NGOs have been successful in maintaining the momentum of the programme and it was suggested that this could be used as a model for collaboration with NGOs at the field level. On monitoring and evaluation, the group was informed about the indicators being developed by the Inter-Agency Working Group on Common Databases (DevInfo). The Swedish Government has provided a grant for the development of these indicators. There was some discussion on how to contribute to policy and how to ensure that good practices at the district and state level could be made available for policy deliberations. There is often a gap between policy and implementation. Suggestions for national level policy however, should also take into account state level variations. For example, the Integrated Rural Development Programme has worked in some states but not in others. On behalf of the Planning Commission, Dr Nayyar called for greater research activities and thinking on best practices. It was agreed that there should be greater information sharing and exchange of best practices between development partners. It was suggested that there should be greater use of the information and links available on the internet. Finally, it was emphasised that the UN System in India would continue to work in close partnership with the Government, collaborating too with civil society and the international development community. It was hoped that there would be more opportunities for such interactions. The UNDAF process in India would benefit from the support of the international development community. 12 May 2000, UNDP Committee Room, Lodi Estate, New Delhi- India |
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