THE UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME

UNDP on the web: http://www.undp.org

Created in 1965, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the United Nation's largest source of grants for development co-operation, and serves as the central co-ordinating agency for development co-operation for the entire United Nations System. Headquarters are in New York, but UNDP delivers most of its services through its more than 130 country offices but it also engages in global and regional advocacy and analysis to increase knowledge, share best practices, build partnerships, mobilize resources, and promote enabling frameworks including international targets for reducing poverty. In addition, UNDP supports Technical Cooperation Among Developing Countries. UNDP aims at poverty alleviation and job creation, empowerment of women, environmental protection and good governance as well as at strengthening international co-operation for sustainable human development and serving as a major substantive resource on how to achieve it.

At the United Nations Millennium Summit in September 2000, world leaders pledged to cut poverty in half by 2015. UNDP is charged with helping to make this happen. Its focus is on providing developing countries with knowledge-based consulting services and building national, regional and global coalitions for change.