NEW UNITED NATIONS ASSISTANCE FRAMEWORK SAID TO REFLECT COMMON APPROACH TO DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS FOR MOZAMBIQUE

14 July 1998

Press Release
ECOSOC/5776

NEW UNITED NATIONS ASSISTANCE FRAMEWORK SAID TO REFLECT COMMON APPROACH TO DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS FOR MOZAMBIQUE

19980714 Economic and Social Council Reviews Country's Situation, in Dialogue with Government and Agency Representatives

The United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) in Mozambique reflected a common interest towards the coordination of programmes and was based on national development objectives and priorities, a representative of that country's Government told the Economic and Social Council this afternoon.

The Council held a dialogue with the United Nations country team from Mozambique to examine the experience in the pilot phase of the UNDAF. (The UNDAF is a mechanism to achieve collaboration, programmatic coherence and mutual reinforcement among the funds and programmes in order to assist governments in the implementation of the outcomes of United Nations conferences and summits.)

The Director of Multilateral Economic Relations in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Mozambique, Gamiliel Munguambe, said the successful conclusion of UNDAF was a result of several factors. Those included the existence of a general framework for reforms, consultations between agencies and national entities, and a favourable environment for aid coordination. The UNDAF would also enable the Government to conclude the first joint programme exercise by the year 2001.

The UNDAF process in Mozambique allowed United Nations agencies to work together, said the Resident Coordinator and representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Emmanuel Dierckx de Casterle. That cooperation had enhanced common services and rationalized the whole United Nations structure in the country. The cohesion would have an impact on the development goal of eradicating poverty and creating sustainable development in the country.

The representative of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), Mark Stirling, said UNDAF defined both the specific purpose of the United Nations system in Mozambique and the rules and procedures to be utilized. The function of the Organization's system in Mozambique was to apply mandates that emanated from the country. It was also important to have a structure to manage and coordinate the contributions of the various United Nations agencies.

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The representative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Georges Georgi, said it had been necessary to establish 10 United Nations theme groups in order to execute the UNDAF process. The collective purpose of the groups was to create a new culture of collaboration and coordination among the agencies. They would facilitate a change in the way the United Nations functioned, as well as secure a more coherent response to national priorities.

The dialogue was facilitated by Chief of Development Cooperation, Policy Branch of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Alfred Haemmerli.

Also addressing the Council this afternoon were the representatives of the World Health Organization (WHO), Carlos Tiny; of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Hubert Charles; and of the World Food Programme (WFP), Georgia Shaver; and the Operations Analyst for Mozambique of the World Bank, Jocelyn Mason.

In his concluding remarks, Roble Olhaye (Djibouti), Vice-President of the Council, said the country teams from Guatemala (who spoke at this morning's meeting) and Mozambique had both had made it clear that they would look to the Council for strong guidance and policy directives.

The Council will meet again at 10 a.m. tomorrow, 15 July, to begin the humanitarian segment of its 1998 substantive session.

Council Work Programme

The Economic and Social Council met this afternoon to conclude its segment on operational activities for international development cooperation by considering the reports of the Executive Boards of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)/United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), and the World Food Programme (WFP).

Also this afternoon, the Council was scheduled to hold a dialogue with the United Nations country team from Mozambique to discuss that country's experience in the initial pilot phases of the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF). (For further information on the session, see Press Release ECOSOC/5771 of 10 July.)

Mozambique Country Team Presentation

ALFRED HAEMMERLI, Chief, Development Cooperation, Policy Branch, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, opened the session on UNDAF pilot phase in Mozambique.

EMMANUEL DIERCKX DE CASTERLE, UNDP Representative and Resident Coordinator, said that while inflation in Mozambique was down to 2 per cent, the country was still among the 10 poorest in the world. However, in the development from civil war to peace and democracy, progress had been quite good. Based on current and anticipated foreign investments for the future, the country had the largest private investment programme in Africa outside of South Africa. The Government's priorities were a mixture of conventional development and the strengthening of democracy. In the latter, it was assisted by the United Nations in areas such as good governance. The Government, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) led what was called the consultative group.

MARK STIRLING, representative, UNICEF, said UNDAF was there to define both the specific purpose of the United Nations system in Mozambique and the rules and procedures to be utilized. In achieving collaboration goals it was important that a framework was created to intervene in and manage the various programmes. That process had to be all inclusive. The function of the Organization's system in Mozambique was to apply mandates that emanated from the country. It was also important to have a structure to manage and coordinate the contributions of the various United Nations agencies. Those contributions revolved around objectives such as: increasing access to basic services; helping civil society to develop in a sustainable environment; and promoting capacities for natural development.

GEORGES GEORGI, representative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), said UNDAF was a process, as well as a product. To enforce the process, it was necessary to establish 10 United Nations thematic working

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groups. Their purpose was to create and develop a new culture of collaboration and coordination among the agencies. They would facilitate a change in the way the United Nations functioned, as well as secure a more coherent response to national priorities. In addition, the groups would be an internal system to the agencies, without competing with the coordination systems of donors and governments.

The thematic groups would ensure programme streamlining, avoid duplication and competition, and promote complementarity, he said. They also would help facilitate between the United Nations, and the government and donors. In addition, the groups would provide a forum for information exchange, and make United Nations agencies and their staff responsible to each other.

CARLOS TINY, representative of the World Health Organization (WHO), said health thematic group, chaired by the WHO, provided an opportunity to come up with a common United Nations strategy. That would allow for the establishment of concrete collaborative objectives and the harmonization of the work of key players in the health field. In a number areas, particularly maternal mortality, a common strategy had been developed. It also led to a common approach with the Government and other partners in the reform of the health sector. The education theme group was chaired by the representative of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and met monthly.

The disaster management theme group had produced the most visible results, he said. It had help to institute a common strategy, work plan and approach with the Government. The group also supported the development of a national strategy. In addition, it completed a vulnerability assessment and mapping which had identified the 20 most vulnerable districts in the country. Among the selected activities of the gender theme group were a gender pilot project in the Zambezia province, whereby members of the group determined methods for increased collaboration in order to achieve better results. That group also working to ensure that gender issues were incorporated into all activities of the United Nations system.

HUBERT CHARLES, representative of UNESCO, said that theme groups had managed to agree and develop a set of core indicators in Mozambique. Also, those groups had been able to identify a great deal of joint activity through field trips and inter-agency retreats. Progress in terms of inter-agency efforts to influence national activity was being made. An example was the redesigning of the curriculum of the police training school to include issues such as child health and abuse.

Gender was not a simple thematic issue, he said. It was a cross-cutting area that affected most groups. When planning was done, that issue was not ignored by any agency. The issues of AIDS/HIV, demining and cholera had also

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been dealt with in an inter-agency fashion. Such an approach negated duplication and facilitated coordinated planning.

GEORGIA SHAVER, representative of the World Food Programme (WFP), said three operational committees had been established in the areas of information- monitoring and evaluation, staff development, and administration and operations. Those groups had led to the enhanced performance of the United Nations system in Mozambique through a more effective delivery of services, increased coordination, and the development of a common set of tools. Each committee had a coordinator and enjoyed the participation of all agencies. The information, monitoring and evaluation committee was responsible for the updating, maintenance and dissemination of the core indicator set. It also was finalizing a handbook of standard indicators and tools to monitor United Nations supported programmes.

The objectives of the staff development committee were to identify and respond to common United Nations staff training needs required to implement UNDAF. It would also plan and implement common training events, and maintain a common United Nations training module and reports database. The administrative and operations committee had the objective to improve efficiency and effectiveness of administration and human resource management of the United Nations system in Mozambique. Its key activities, among others, for 1998 included streamlining and enhancing information technology and systems, and finalizing a common consultant roster. Regarding the establishment of common premises, she said the Government fully recognized the importance of the United Nations House. Action had been taken to enhance and streamline common services. The operational coordination committees produced many benefits, including encouraging broad-based participation of United Nations staff in UNDAF. They also ensured that the strengths of the individual agencies became the strengths of the system.

Mr. DIERCKX DE CASTERLE said the system in Mozambique was better now because the United Nations agencies were working together. There was value added through collaboration -- everyone felt that they were benefiting from each other. That cooperations also enhanced common services and rationalized the whole United Nations structure in Mozambique. The Special Initiative in Africa was also progressing well. Inter-agency cooperation meant that more space was being created for coordination. It was hoped that such efforts would make the work of the Government easier. Cohesion would have an impact on the development goal which was ultimately to eradicate poverty and create sustainable development in the country.

GAMILIEL MUNGUAMBE, Director of Multilateral Economic Relations in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Mozambique, said that by 1996 his Government had approved its country strategy note. Through that document, development objective and priorities were developed and the role of United Nations agencies was foreseen. By the time the UNDAF exercise was launched, the framework for implementation had already been in place. The importance of

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UNDAF was far-reaching. It reflected a common interest towards coordination and harmonization of programmes. It also was based on national development objectives and priorities in the country.

He said the successful conclusion of UNDAF was a result of combined factors. Those included the existence of a general framework for reforms, the consultation process between agencies and national entities, and a favourable environment for aid coordination. In addition, UNDAF would enable the Government to conclude the first joint programme exercise by the year 2001. In the future, Mozambique would like to see implementation and administrative issues addressed by the time of the introduction of the first joint programming exercise.

JOCELYN MASON, Operations Analyst for Mozambique of the World Bank, said the Bank's programme in Mozambique was recently re-elaborated in a country assistance strategy, which was approved last November. The objective of that strategy was to support the Government's programme for poverty reduction through sustainable economic growth. The strategy had the following three strategic priorities: promoting rapid, broad-based private sector-led growth; capacity- building and human development; and strengthening development partnerships. Overall aid coordination in Mozambique was focused in the consultative group, which the Bank chaired. In its meetings, the group set common policy directions and discussed ways of increasing the effectiveness of aid.

At the programme level, the Bank's reorganization included appointing country directors who were responsible for developing and implementing the Bank's strategy in a country, he said. The country director headed a country team that included the sector experts and sector managers. In Mozambique, the management of the Bank's portfolio had been moved to Maputo. The aim of that action was to enhance the response to issues as they arose, and to enable more active coordination on a daily basis with United Nations and donors at the project level.

The World Bank participated in the discussion on the formulation of UNDAF, he said. It emphasized the complementarities between the Bank and the Organization's objectives and programmes, and the benefits of close collaboration and coordination. The Bank also took part in the UNDAF theme groups. The Mozambique UNDAF provided an opportunity to build in an already close and productive relationship between the Bank and the United Nations in that country.

Exchange of Views

Mr. DIERCKX DE CASTERLE said there were 500 United Nations employees in Mozambique, a number of whom were international. The Special Initiative of Africa was an important guide post and represented important convergence efforts. Among some of its important recommendations were the proposals that

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within 10 years all children in Africa should have schooling and that basic health services should reach two thirds of households. The agencies in Africa were very comfortable with the Initiative. Responding to the question on the private sector, he said the Government had privatized about 850 public companies. That action had attracted much national interests. Also, foreign direct investment was coming "in streams". His agency used a great deal of national expertise at all levels, and 65 per cent of the programmes in the UNDP were nationally executed.

In response to two questions, Ms. SHAVER said it was necessary to incorporate into UNDAF a relief and development continuum, as well as other types of development parameters. The disaster-management theme group looked at programming initiatives, and it was an important aspect of its work. The group could help to coordinate appeals and support the resident coordinator to seek resources, if necessary. When a serious cholera epidemic hit Mozambique, the WHO took the lead in that area because that was part of their mandate. Reports were shared to keep all actors informed about what the agencies were doing about the epidemic. That ensured that the response to cholera was timely and appropriate. The theme group also provided inputs from the United Nations system on action to be taken if a serious drought affected the country. The disaster-management theme group also worked in capacity building. The Government was in the process of trying to change its role in disaster management, and the theme group had been very supportive by providing additional resources.

Regarding indicators, she said they were very general in orientation, but the theme groups were still new. As the process progressed, the indicators would evolve. They were a central management tool to report back to country management team for use in the appraisal process. The agencies would be looking at indicators carefully, and at their application outside the country and in the United Nations system where the indicators would be supported. Better communication was necessary to ensure that all actors were working with the same indicators.

Mr. GEORGI said advocacy groups in Mozambique dealt with adolescent problems and issues such as HIV. They also implemented programmes to deal with the needs of exploited, abused and malnourished children. Gender was not dealt with in a vertical manner in thematic groups, but by cross-cutting approaches. Common projects and initiatives were being addressed to deal with gender issues. All professional staff of the United Nations should be trained in gender mainstreaming. Following that phase, all government staff, the private sector and civil society should also be exposed to the same type of training.

In response to questions about difficulties in the UNDAF process, Mr. CHARLES said that such a delicate process could not be pursued without difficulties. The United Nation reforms did not envisage an essential participation by all specialized agencies. The challenge was there at the

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national level for all agencies to be involved in the process. When UNESCO got involved, the seeds of conflict were sown. It was a reflection on the calibre of the relationship that developed that difficulties were managed in a cooperative way. That also reflected the commitment of the United Nations in Mozambique to reach as much consensus as possible. The difficulties would continue because the UNDAF process was an experiment.

Mr. STIRLING said there was need for a definition of framework to distinguish it from programming. A framework was established in Mozambique and not a programme; within Mozambique, there were many issues, and framework was needed too address them all.

He said the main question to be asked within a framework was how agencies and Government could work to solve a variety of problems. Collective advocacy and the resources of various organizations could identify solutions. Frameworks also sought to avoid duplication of activities. Thus, in the area of demining, efforts became the responsibility of the UNDP. In other specific areas, other agencies such as UNICEF were given particular responsibilities.

He said the theme groups were largely for internal work and not substitutes for donor cooperation mechanisms. Therefore, there was a need to strengthen the mechanisms to work with external factors.

In response to questions about the health sector, Mr. TINY said it was clear that there was a new spirit of collaboration and way of doing business among the United Nations agencies in Mozambique. They could now go together to address the Minister of Health with a simple strategy. They were also working to elaborate alternative approaches to the problems of accountability and reporting. The national authorities also had emphasized the importance of those projects. The specialized agencies had been invited to participate in the UNDAF process in a pro-active way. The process was useful for the WHO, and it had reaffirmed its commitment to it.

Mr. MUNGUAMBE said his Government was not trying to give the impression that everything was perfect in the country. Collaboration between the Government and the United Nations system was not new. Such cooperation existed before the appointment of the resident coordinator, and it would continue. The cost of UNDAF might be high, but the benefits were perceivable. It was preferable for his Government to be able to collect all the agencies into a central instrument.

ROBLE OLHAYE (Djibouti), Vice-President of the Council, in concluding remarks on the Council's segment on operational activities for international development cooperation, said the mix of discussion and panels gave the segment a lively and practical dimension. Both country teams had stated that they looked forward to receiving guidance from the Council, including strong policy directives.

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The important exchange with the heads of the Executive Boards stressed that collaboration between the United Nations and Government and national constituencies -- including non-governmental organizations and the private sector -- played a critical role at the country level. That dialogue had also given the Council a deeper understanding of the potential, as well as the complexities of the reform process. The vital importance of reversing the current negative resources situation was stressed in many statements.

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