Govt to sign ‘One UN’ pact

KIGALI - The government and the UN system in Rwanda will sign the “One UN” Programme tomorrow.The event will be held at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (Minecofin) headquarters, according to a press statement. By the signing the pact, sixteen UN agencies operating in Rwanda will commit to the effective implementation of the reform in the country.According to the release from Unity in diversity, Rwanda has shown significant progress in the past eight months after the country was selected as one of pilot countries for the ‘One UN – Delivering as One Reform’ programme. “The idea is to have one single programme instead of different agency specific programmes. This way we will maximise efficiency based on comparative advantage of agencies,” Moustapha Soumaré, the UN Resident Coordinator in Rwanda, is quoted as saying in the statement.He added: “We will work in unity but keep the diversity of each agency.”The agencies that will sign the pact include FAO, IFAD, ILO, ITC, ITU, OHCHR, UNAIDS, UNCDF, UNCTAD, UNDP, UNECA, UNEP. Others are UNESCO, UNFPA, UNHCR, UN-HABITAT, UNICEF, UNIDO, UNIFEM, WFP and WHO.In January this year, Rwanda was selected as one of eight pilot countries for the “One UN – Delivering as One” reform on the request of government.The statement explained that one important aim of the reform is to create a more efficient and cost effective UN to speed up the work towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and improve the lives of Rwandans.The programme is based on the national priorities in Vision 2020 and the Economic Development Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS) and focuses on five key areas; governance, health (HIV, nutrition and population), education, environment and sustainable growth and social protection.“Individual UN agencies will work closely together throughout planning and implementation in each of these thematic areas,” Soumaré explained further.The statement added that one budgetary framework has been established to ensure the full implementation of the programme. It also indicated that the unfunded portion will constitute the “One UN Fund for Rwanda” and will be mobilized by the Resident Coordinator in cooperation with the Country Team. ‘In this context, each agency’s resources will remain within the control of the agency, but spent fully aligned with the One Programme,” the statement read in part. Ends

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Govt to sign ‘One UN’ pact