United Nations Development Programme Somalia (UNDP Somalia) works with partners to achieve the goal of a peaceful and secure nation in which every Somali has the opportunity to build a better life.

Since the collapse of the Siyad Barre regime and together with around 23 other UN agencies in Somalia, UNDP has been helping Somalis recover from years of conflict and set Somalia on the path to development. It supports Somalis to build peace, reconstruct their infrastructure and rebuild their institutions. In all its activities, UNDP encourages the protection of human rights and the empowerment of women. UNDP is an important and active member of the United Nations County Team in Somalia .

United Nations values and identity ensure UNDP’s neutrality and respect for Somalia’s control over its own future.

What we do

UNDP helps Somalis attain the Millennium Development Goals through solutions for democratic governance, rule of law and security, recovery and sustainable livelihoods, and the fight against HIV/AIDS.

• Democratic governance: UNDP supports national and local institutions and serves to steward Somalia’s establishment of good governance and public accountability in an environment where government functions are nascent or non-existent. With its work on local governance, for example, UNDP empowers communities to take part in and demand accountability for the services – such as access to health centres and water ‒ that their administration provides.

• Rule of law and security: UNDP provides a development approach to the rule of law and works towards improved security and protection under the law for all Somalis. UNDP strengthens national and local capacities to prevent, mitigate and cope with the impact of violence. For instance, UNDP gives the most vulnerable sections of society (internally displaced people, children, and women) access to free legal aid, and we consider police to be providing a service to the community, not just acting as a law-enforcement body.

• Poverty Reduction and Environmental Protection: UNDP strives to improve livelihood opportunities for the poorest and most vulnerable and strengthen institutional arrangements and policies for better management of natural resources. Despite years of intense conflict, there are pockets of opportunities where communities can engage in activities for early recovery, community empowerment and the revival of sustainable livelihoods. Focus is on area-based community-level planning to promote localized, integrated, gender-sensitive MDG-based interventions for human security and human development.

• Support towards reaching the Millennium Development Goals: UNDP empowers Somalis and their administrations to enhance human development; increase awareness and advocacy on the Millennium Development Goals and human development; increase poverty monitoring and reporting; and develop the capacity of institutions and individuals. For instance, UNDP will be introducing Human Development as a course in selected universities in Somalia. It also enhances Somalis’ capacities to collect and share poverty- and vulnerability-related data in a country where such information is scarce but instrumental to achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

• HIV/AIDS: UNDP over the past five years has become one of the main actors in the response to the pandemic in Somalia. To reduce stigma and discrimination, which continue to fuel the epidemic, UNDP works to protect the rights of people living with HIV/AIDS, women and other vulnerable populations. For example, UNDP works with religious leaders, encouraging them to integrate messages addressing the stigma and discrimination linked to HIV/AIDS into weekly prayers at mosques across the country.

How we work

In each of these areas, UNDP – often working with non-governmental organization, civil society, and government partners – designs projects that contribute to real, measurable improvements in the lives of the Somali people. Through support to local government, UNDP helps local councils to deliver much needed services, such as access to water supplies and health care. With communities, UNDP is engaged in building or rehabilitating access roads, markets and irrigation systems. In order to restore security and basic government functions, UNDP supports the police, the rule of law, public finance management and key governance institutions. UNDP is also increasing awareness on and advocating for the Millennium Development Goals and human development in Somalia.

UNDP operates within the United Nations Somali Assistance Strategy (UNSAS) , an overarching five-year plan for UN agencies in Somalia. The UNSAS covers the UN's humanitarian, recovery and development priorities in Somalia from 2010 until 2015 and defines how assistance will contribute to the national priorities identified by the Somali authorities themselves in their own Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) . The The RDP was developed through a 'post-conflict' needs assessment process called the Somali Joint Needs Assessment (JNA) which was carried out in 2005-7 and involved a national assessment of rehabilitation and transitional recovery needs. However UNDP formally established its presence in Somalia in 1977 with the signature of the Standard Basic Framework Agreement (SBBA ).

In line with the UNSAS, UNDP developed a Country Programme Document 2011-2015 (CPD) , which outlines UNDP's recovery and development assistance to Somalia over the five-year period.  

The security situation in Somalia obliges UNDP to run operations from the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, but we are present throughout Somalia, with key offices in Garowe and Hargeisa. In October 2011, UNDP upgraded and reopened the United Nations Common Compound in Mogadishu, which has also created opportunities to extend UNDP initiatives in South Central Somalia.

Currently there is a total of 112 staff working in Somalia: 9 international, 15 national and 88 service contract holders. As the security situation allows, UNDP will increasingly decentralize its operations from Nairobi to the Sub Offices.

The head of UNDP Somalia, Mark Bowden, is also the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, who oversees and coordinates the work of the different UN agencies working in Somalia. Hence, in addition to its own programme, UNDP also contributes to the work of the other UN agencies active in Somalia.

In Somalia, the focus is on:

Helping Somalis build and share solutions to the challenges surrounding:

•    Democratic governance, rule of law and security
•    Poverty reduction and environmental protection
•    Achieveing the Millennium Development Goals
•    Gender equality and women's empowerment
•    HIV/AIDS

UNDP, the global development network 

UNDP is the United Nations' global development network, an organization advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. We are on the ground in 177 countries, working with them on their own solutions to global and national development challenges. As they develop local capacity, they draw on the people of UNDP and our wide range of partners. World leaders have pledged to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, including the overarching goal of cutting poverty in half by 2015. UNDP's network links and coordinates global and national efforts to reach these Goals. Our focus is helping countries build and share solutions to the challenges of:Democratic Governance, Poverty Reduction, Crisis Prevention & Recovery, Environment & Energyand HIV/AIDSUnited Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the United Nations’ global development network. UNDP is present in 166 countries.

Contacts:

UNDP Somalia
Communication Team
P.O. Box 28832-00200 Nairobi, Kenya
Tel: +254 20 4255000
Fax: +254 20 4255101
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
www.so.undp.org