US$ 685 m to be spent in Nepal under UNDAF

The National Planning Commission and the United Nations Country Team in Nepal published the approved United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) for 2013 -2017 with an outlay of US$ 685 million.

The US$ 685 million package involving 24 individual UN agencies spans interventions aimed at assisting vulnerable groups better access development progress, activities aimed at protecting Nepal’s development gains to date, and support aimed at facilitating Nepal’s international cooperation, a statement issued by the UN country team.

The strategy has been under preparation for over one year, in a process involving hundreds of local and international subject-experts and officials. The UNDAF lays out a common development strategy for the UN Country Team in Nepal for the next five years.

According to the UN, a signing ceremony on this was held on September 6. Vice Chairperson of the National Planning Commission, Deependra Bahadur Kshetry, said, “UN agencies’ assistance to Nepal, especially in the area of the social upliftment of backward communities remains important. The UNDAF outlines various measures to uplift communities through UN agencies' activities. Let us work together to materialize government policies and UN ideals”.

At the event the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Robert Piper, noted that the UNDAF “addresses the right issues with a clear sense of purpose, ambition and urgency, setting the stage for an exciting period of renewed collaboration between the United Nations Development Group and the Government of Nepal”. “Now it is time to roll up our sleeves and get to work on bringing it to life,” he added. Nepalnews.com