Addressing the needs of Least Developed Countries Background Paper for Discussion during June Executive Board Meeting The development context of the Least Developed Countries1

At the request of both LDCs and traditional donors, the Istanbul Programme of Action and its political declaration place emphasis on productive capacities as a “development multiplier”. The Programme of Action also highlights a series of LDC-specific actions to further development, including mobilizing and allocating domestic resources, tackling corruption and improving governance, and harmonizing and reforming policies and institutions. It is crucial, however, that LDCs receive support from UNDP, UNOPS, UNFPA and the rest of the UN System as we move towards 2015 and beyond. LDCs cannot shoulder their development challenge alone.

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   Supporting MDG acceleration - UNDP stands ready to support LDCs in their efforts to identify institutional, governance and capacity bottlenecks to MDG progress and in finding solutions to these in partnership with governments, the wider UN family and other development partners. This includes through supporting the roll out of the UNDG MDG Acceleration Framework and advancing policy support in areas proven to leverage multiple results across MDGs, such as expanding access to energy and gender equality.
   

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   Supporting the promotion of inclusive and sustainable growth - UNDP will support governments to promote growth processes that are inclusive: through a focus on decent employment and the use of appropriate social protection mechanisms. For resilience, UNDP will support governments at the local and national levels to minimize the risks they face from natural disasters and to recover from their effects. Over the medium to longer term, increasing resilience and sustainability should be grounded in efforts to transition to greener, low-carbon and climate resilient economies. Such a transition would not only increase resilience to environmental shocks but also to economic volatility through the creation of more competitive and sustainable economies.
   

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   Promoting inclusive and equitable development – To ensure sustainable development, LDCs will need to ensure that all women and men have the security and freedom to express their views and demand accountability without suffering reprisal. In this endeavour, UNDP will support partners to strengthen democratic processes, strengthened institutions and the rule of law. This will require engaging with new, localized development partners, from youth groups to civil society organizations, and ensuring the equal participation of women and other marginalized groups in decision-making and planning processes.
   

UNDP is also well placed to work with the Government of Turkey in light of its announcement at LDC IV that it would allocate US$200 million annually to support LDCs in their development trajectory. This would be in line with the Partnership Framework Agreement between the Government of Turkey and the UNDP, whereby the two partners can work side by side on key issues pertaining to LDCs development, ranging from technology and knowledge transfer to energy and climate issues, as well as other technical and policy level coordination.

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   Population and development strategies: Governments need to be able to gather adequate information about population dynamics and trends in order to create and manage sound policies and generate the political will to appropriately address both current and future needs. UNFPA assists countries in every aspect of this task, from developing capacity in data collection and analysis to participating in national, regional and global policy dialogue. Key areas of focus include migration, ageing, climate change and urbanization.
   

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   Sexual and reproductive health: Working with a wide range of partners, UNFPA assists governments in delivering sexual and reproductive health care throughout the lifecycle of women. Access to reproductive health care helps to reduce infant, child and maternal mortality, arrest the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, supports the empowerment of women and contributes to falling fertility rates. All of these remain top development objectives in the world’s poorest countries.
   

Areas of assistance include: Family planning, the ability for all individuals to obtain and use affordable, quality reproductive health supplies of their choice whenever they need them; antenatal, safe delivery and post-natal care; prevention and appropriate treatment of infertility; prevention of abortion and management of its consequences; treatment of reproductive tract infections; prevention, care and treatment of sexually transmitted infections, including HIV; information, education and counseling, as appropriate, on human sexuality and reproductive health; prevention of violence against women, care for survivors of violence and other actions to eliminate traditional harmful practices; appropriate referrals for further diagnosis and management of the above.

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   Gender equality and women's empowerment: UNFPA's gender framework incorporates four strategic linkages that address critical factors underlying inequalities and rights violations: girls' education, women's economic empowerment, women's political participation and the balancing of reproductive and productive roles.
   

The Fund brings gender issues to wider attention, and promotes legal and policy reforms and gender-sensitive data collection. It works to end gender-based violence, including traditional practices that harm women, such as child marriage and female genital mutilation/cutting. It also raises awareness of women's specific strengths, vulnerabilities and needs in relation to a variety of issues, such as humanitarian emergencies, climate change and migration. UNFPA also recognizes the rights, perspectives and influence of men and boys, and seeks to involve them in efforts to promote gender equality and improve reproductive health.

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   Supporting adolescents and youth: Today about 60 per cent of the population in LDCs is under the age of 25, and by 2050 this population will have grown by another 60 per cent. UNFPA's 'four keys' to opening up opportunities for young people include incorporating youth issues into national development and poverty reduction strategies; expanding access to gender-sensitive sexual and reproductive health education that encourages the development of life skills; promoting a core package of health services and commodities for young people; and encouraging youth leadership and participation.
   

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   Assisting in emergencies: The LDCs remain the main locus of conflicts in the world. In times of upheaval, pregnancy-related deaths and sexual violence soar. Reproductive health and obstetric services often become unavailable. Young people become more vulnerable to HIV infection and sexual exploitation. Within the coordinated, inter-agency response to disasters, UNFPA moves quickly when emergency strikes. The Fund takes the lead in providing supplies and services to protect reproductive health, with an emphasis on the special needs and vulnerabilities of women and young people.
   

UNFPA supports various data collection activities, including censuses to provide detailed information for planning and rapid health assessments to allow for appropriate, effective and efficient relief. It also assists stricken communities as they move beyond the acute crisis and enter the reconstruction phase.

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  The LDCs are automatically included in UNFPA’s priority list of countries, which are the focus of both its financial and technical assistance. Between 2001 and 2009, UNFPA has increased its resources allocated to priority countries from USD 120.7 million to USD 337.8 million, or from 64.4 per cent to 73.5 per cent of its total resources allocated for country activities.
  
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  UNFPA supports LDCs, on a demand driven basis, in (i) the population situation analysis, (ii) the evaluation of the linkages between population dynamics and development challenges and objectives, as well as (iii) the integration of population dynamics and interrelated issues -- notably reproductive health, HIV/ AIDS, women’s empowerment and youth -- in national development and poverty reduction strategies.
  
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  UNFPA strengthens the capacity of LDCs, on a demand-driven basis, to design, execute and analyze censuses.
  

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  Designing and managing projects of all sizes, providing multiple, complementary services such as logistical planning;
  
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  Large-scale procurement of goods and services, including guidance to clients throughout the procurement process; with its significant buying power, UNOPS enjoys considerable leverage with suppliers and passes cost savings on to clients;
  
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  Physical infrastructure design, engineering, construction and rehabilitation, including roads, schools and hospitals, and the erection of durable storage facilities in remote locations at short notice. UNOPS emphasizes the use of labour-intensive projects to help local people back into work, as securing livelihoods goes a long way towards empowering families, promoting stability and boosting economic recovery. We also work closely with national governments to fill capacity gaps and develop existing capacities, often embedding staff in key ministries. In order to reduce damage caused by natural disasters, UNOPS also works with a number of countries to develop their capacity for prediction, preparedness and mitigation as well as infrastructure damage assessments in the aftermath of disasters.
  
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  Implementation of climate change adaptation activities, protection of international waters and vulnerable areas, address the environmental consequences of natural disasters and support small grants aimed at non-governmental and community-based organizations;
  
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  Supporting security sector reform and constructing security infrastructure, such as police stations, prisons, courthouses and border crossings; UNOPS also procure goods such as vehicles and equipment, and supports humanitarian mine action and the removal of unexploded ordnance.