Two-day conference examines effectiveness of U.N. pilot program to coordinate development assistance

A two-day conference examining the effectiveness of a pilot program aimed at improving the coherence and effectiveness of U.N. assistance is taking place this week in Ha Noi, Vietnam, South Asian News Agency reports.

Representatives from countries participating in the "Delivering as One" pilots as well as donors and U.N. representatives discussed their experiences with the pilot and ways to improve the program, SANA adds (6/15).

"The so-called 'Delivering as One' scheme was launched in 2007 to respond to global challenges and test how the U.N. can provide more coordinate development assistance in the nations which volunteered to become pilot cases: Albania, Cape Verde, Mozambique, Pakistan, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uruguay, and Vietnam," according to the U.N. News Centre. "Together with the world body, these nations are experimenting with ways to increase the U.N.'s impact through more coherent programmes and speed up the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), eight anti-poverty targets with a 2015 deadline," the piece adds (6/14).

Speaking during the opening day of the conference, U.N. Development Program (UNDP) Administrator Helen Clark noted that the pilot program has decreased "both duplication and gaps in the U.N. support system," the U.N. News Centre continues. "In Rwanda, the U.N. Country Team has created a multi-faceted HIV/AIDS scheme supporting the government's prevention and care efforts, while in Albania, the world body has supported increased women's participation politics during an election which resulted in the more than doubling of the number of women in the country's Parliament," the piece notes (6/14).

On the sidelines of the conference, Clark discussed the progress Vietnam has made in its efforts to achieve the MDGs, Agence France-Presse reports. "Clark said [that while] Vietnam will be able to report good progress towards the goals of eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, achieving universal primary education, and reducing child and maternal mortality," the country has more work ahead in the fight against HIV/AIDS and efforts to improve access to water and sanitation, the news service writes. The piece also details the challenges the countries of Myanmar and Thailand face in their attempts to achieve the MDGs.

"Vietnam and Pakistan are among eight countries worldwide participating in the pilot which, the U.N. says, has hastened achievement of the Millennium Development Goals," AFP writes (6/15).

Viet Nam News Agency, also tracking the meeting, notes remarks made during the conference by President Nguyen Minh Triet about Vietnam's progress towards reaching MDGs (6/15).