Our Perspective Articles
Creating viable, sustainable livelihoods
24 Aug 2016
Nadia is a participant in “Emergency Employment project- a UNDP’s initiative" which is funded by DANIDA and WFP and implemented in collaboration with the National Microfinance Bank (NMB). Photo:UNDP JordanThe recent World Humanitarian Summit, held on May 23-24, 2016, in Istanbul, as well as the Supporting Syrians and the Region Conference in London, of February 4, 2016, represented important milestones in the search for more sustainable responses to complex and protracted crisis. Some of the conclusions and recommendations from these events had been anticipated at the Resilience Development Forum, organised under the patronage of the prime minister last November, and captured in the Dead Sea Resilience Agenda. In a joint effort, the international community pledged to ease the region’s economic access to world market and to uphold its generous contributions, while the governments in the region offered to open up their labour markets in an attempt to create 1.1 million jobs by 2018. The United Nations Development Programme, the World Food Programme and the International Labour Organisation, in close cooperation with the six countries most affected by the refugee crisis, have now undertaken a Regional Economic Opportunity Assessment (REOA) that identifies the challenges to employment creation, maps successful attempts at overcoming them and spells out concrete recommendations to local governments, donors, the private sector and the international community. The assessment was conducted by national experts in each of the countries Read More
Unleashing the entrepreneur spirit for economic growth in Jordan: Let me count the ways
24 Aug 2016
UNDP sees entrepreneurship as a central driver of economic stability and supports initiatives that tap into local skills. Photo: UNDP JordanThere's nothing quite like having a bunch of entrepreneurs in the same room to generate off-the-charts energy and inspiration for economic development and social progress. I was fortunate to host a social innovation workshop in Amman, Jordan, with a collection of business starters and supporters to generate ideas for strengthening the entrepreneur ecosystem in the country. The workshop was held on the occasion of the visit to Jordan of the UN Foundation's Global Entrepreneurs Council (GEC), a group of eight luminaries from around the world who support those creative and bold enough to start new businesses. The Council, chaired by Ashish Thakkar, was in Jordan to better understand the issues facing local entrepreneurs, particularly those affected by conflict, including in host communities and refugees. UNDP sees entrepreneurship as a central driver of economic and social stability, and supports initiatives that tap into local skills, expertise, and resources to foster entrepreneurial spirit and success. Entrepreneurs in Jordan currently face challenges of growth (how to migrate from micro to small, small to medium, etc.); and sustainability (how to keep their businesses going after initial support). The ecosystem has seen many business development service providers emerge over the past several years, presenting an opportunity to make these services Read More
Sport for SDGs: A journey from Khartoum to Rio de Janeiro
19 Aug 2016
Sudanese athletes at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Photo: UNDP Sudan
Sport is not usually the first thought that comes to mind when talking about achieving sustainable development. Nonetheless, it has been an instrumental tool in the promotion of peace and development for many years and I was able to witness it for myself at this year’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Since the inception of the Millennium Development Goals, sport has been essential in implementing development targets as recognized by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development which emphasizes “the growing contribution of sport […] in its promotion of tolerance and respect and the contributions it makes to the empowerment of women and of young people, individuals and communities…" For this reason, many organizations have been promoting peace through sport. The International Olympic Committee, is an organization encouraging collaboration between all parties of the Olympic family to promote Olympic values such as excellence, friendship and respect. The Committee established a strategic roadmap for the future, highlighting the potential of sport to help achieve at least four of the Sustainable Development Goals: good health and well-being (SDG 3), gender equality (SDG 5), sustainable cities and communities (SDG 11) and peace, justice and strong institutions (SDG 16). In Sudan, the power of Read More
4 lessons learned fighting tuberculosis in Syria
05 Aug 2016
Tuberculosis patients displaced by conflict may lose access to health services, causing an interruption in treatment that increases their risk of developing multi-drug resistant strains of TB. Photo: UNDP SyriaTuberculosis thrives on war and suffering. In theory, Syria offers the perfect breeding grounds for the disease. A lack of access to adequate medical services and poor and crowded housing conditions have created conditions ripe for the spread of tuberculosis. Yet, TB has been largely kept in check. Some 3,479 people were placed on treatment in 2015, a 150 percent increase compared with 2013. The TB treatment success rate has also been maintained at 80 percent during the conflict. UNDP has been supporting Syria to tackle TB since 2007, in partnership with the Global Fund. The onset of war in 2011 made this highly complex and has required a range of innovative approaches. The experience highlights four vital lessons, which could work in other crisis countries: The courage and innovative thinking of front line health workers is critical. Syrian health workers and volunteers are striving to keep services going, despite a crumbling health system and exceptional security threats. Theirs is a story of heroism in a country that has lost 750 health workers since the start of the crisis. They work bravely and ingeniously so services reach all areas, even those controlled by ISIS. Using mobile applications like WhatsApp, they reach Read More
Peacebuilding through parliaments
07 Jul 2016
Parliament in Algeria We look to our parliaments to represent us, adopt laws that protect our fundamental rights and freedoms, and distribute resources to those in need. In such ways, parliaments are uniquely positioned to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment. So why is it that they are so often absent from discussions surrounding the women, peace and security (WPS) agenda and its implementation? The adoption of the United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 in 2000 acknowledged the inordinate impact war has on women, and the pivotal role women play in development, peace and security. Recent resolutions stressed the need for including women in peace talks, to prevent violent extremism and foster post-conflict reconstruction. We have learned that the probability of peace agreements lasting at least two years increases by 20 percent when women participate in the process. The 2015 Sustainable Development Goals recognize the links between gender equality, strong institutions, peace and security. Despite these advances, implementation of UNSCR 1325 has been lagging. The Global Study on the Implementation of UNSCR 1325 cites the lack of funding as the most serious obstacle to implementing the WPS agenda. If we want to bridge the funding gap and guarantee that WPS commitments translate into Read More
A new Global Alliance to 'think urban' in humanitarian response
03 Jun 2016
Syrian Refugee in LebanonIn this blog series leading up to the World Humanitarian Summit, UNDP experts and practitioners share their experiences and views on responding to conflict and disasters. The humanitarian situation is changing. There are now more refugees and internally displaced persons than at any time since the end of the Second World War and 60 percent of these are in urban areas. We need to ‘think urban’ when we design our responses to these increasing crises. Rapid and poorly planned urbanization is driving vulnerability in towns and cities around the world. Humanitarian emergencies are increasingly occurring in towns and cities. Responding to this reality requires new ways of working. Major international humanitarian responses are often not closely tied to local municipal actors that understand their communities’ ongoing needs. Humanitarian work was not always designed to tackle the particular challenges of urban crises such as the ongoing settlement of Syrian refugees across Middle Eastern cities. At UNDP, we’ve adapted the way we work within these contexts, as the UN lead on early recovery. Supporting municipal actors is one of UNDP’s key roles in crisis situations, and we have been supporting municipal governance actors in leading, managing, coordinating and delivering services to assist their Read More
New aid architecture and resilience building around the Syria crisis
01 Jun 2016
Zaatari Refugee Camp in Jordan The international community has been piloting an integrated humanitarian, development and government response to the crisis in the region of Syria. As middle-‐income countries, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and Egypt to a large extent, and Iraq and Syria to a lesser extent, saw declining official financing flows supporting their development in the years preceding the current Syrian crisis. In middle-‐income countries, financing for development relies primarily on national resources and international borrowing. The flows of refugees have put national budgets under stress due to the growth in the volume of subsidies for basic goods and services and to mounting security costs, with Jordan and Lebanon facing higher public debts than their Gross Domestic Products (GDP). The effectiveness of the support of the international community has also been weakened by the prevalence of separate humanitarian, development and climate adaptation financial ‘silos’. The three have different aims and follow different principles. They have evolved separately and operate over different spatial and temporal scales, are aligned with different budget lines and rules, and are managed by different actors. A multitude of multilateral, bilateral and non-‐governmental initiatives exist with their individual funding streams – with communication and coordination among initiatives often lacking even within Read More
In high-risk areas, UNDP-Japan partnership delivers on human security
26 May 2016
Japanese Ambassador for Palestinian Affairs Takeshi Okubo attended the Tokyo League table tennis championships in Gaza. The league uses sports to encourage Palestinian youth in the face of conflict and other hardships. Photo: Shareef Sarhan/UNDP PAPPI’ll never forget watching the final match of the Tokyo League volleyball tournament. It was heart-warming to see the students, wearing their scarves known as Hijab, playing the game with delight, their eyes shining with joy. It seemed like a memorable experience also for the team, who have no opportunity to explore the world beyond the wall. As you might have guessed by now, the Tokyo League doesn’t play in Japan. The league, which began as an initiative of the Japanese Ambassador for Palestinian Affairs, Takeshi Okubo, competes 9,000 miles away in Gaza. The project also includes a female table tennis league and a football league for boys. I decided to visit the Middle East for my first mission as the head of the Japan Unit at UNDP in order to take stock of the impact of Japanese funding in this complex region. As part of the Bureau of External Relations and Advocacy, the Japan Unit’s role is to raise and manage funding from Japan, but also to deepen the policy coherence between UNDP and Japan. Our work in the Middle East is a prime example of this partnership, which centres on realizing human security on the ground. During my mission, Read More
Building a better future for Syrians in Turkey
23 May 2016
Syrian Kurdish refugees cross into Turkey from Syria, near the town of Kobani. The war that erupted in Syria in 2011 has propelled it into becoming the world’s single largest driver of displacement. Photo: I. Prickett/UNHCRIn this blog series leading up to the World Humanitarian Summit, UNDP experts and practitioners share their experiences and views on responding to conflict and disasters. As thousands leave Syria for safer lands, images of white tents and perilous boat journeys have flooded the world’s media. But there’s another side to this story. In Turkey, the host of this week’s World Humanitarian Summit, only about 10 percent of the approximately 2.75 million displaced people from Syria live in refugee camps. The rest live in towns and cities like many of us. Across the country’s southeast, Syrians are silently trying to make a living and blend in. Imagine this: you have new neighbours that you would like to know, but the language barrier and customs make it difficult to reach out. Or you want to find short-term employment, but until recently obtaining a work permit was nearly impossible. These are real-life situations faced by hundreds of thousands of ordinary men and women. Syrians now represent more than 50 percent of the population of Kilis and 22.5 percent of the population of Gaziantep. Over the last five years, more than 150,000 babies of Syrian parents displaced by the conflict were born in Turkey. As the crisis on the Read More
Somalia Diaries: “We came to teach, but instead learned so much”
04 May 2016
Image copyright: UN Photo / Tobin JonesBilan Awdal Organization from Somaliland is one of the three winners of the OFID-UNDP Cross Regional Grants Competition. In December 2015, they committed to transforming the lives of people in the Baki District of Somaliland by implementing a water solution. In the context of the sever drought that hit the region recently, their work became essential to the survival of their community. Yet their road to success hasn’t been without its challenges. Below, Suad Osman, one of the five members of the team, tells their story. Nov 7th, 2015 Things have been difficult. Yet our hardships are temporary considering the grave struggles of many in this region. Where we are staying, winter used to be the only dry season. Nowadays, the climate has changed so drastically that the dry season seems to last forever: it only rains four months per year and some years even less. The community we are visiting has seen its share of problems brought on by climate change. The farmers went from living in productive, self-sustained communities to being poor and desperate. A lot of young adults have run away to cities in search of better lives where a majority of them end up homeless. People tell Read More
