UNDP Somalia works with its partners to achieve the goal of a peaceful and secure nation in which every Somali has the opportunity to build a better life.

To do this it organises its work into programme areas that focus on democratic governance, the rule of law and security, recovery and sustainable livelihoods, and HIV/AIDS.  Each programme - often working with partners in NGOs, civil society and government - designs and implements projects that contribute to real, measurable improvement in the lives of the Somali people.

UNDP Somalia is a country office managed by the Regional Bureau for Arab States based in the UNDP headquarters in New York. The head of UNDP Somalia is the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator who represents the Secretary General of the United Nations and co-ordinates the operational activities of the UN system at the country level, so in addition to its own programme and project work, UNDP Somalia also supports the work of other UN agencies in the UN Country Team for Somalia in several crucial ways.

It was a primary participant in the joint UN/World Bank-led Somali Joint Needs Assessment that identified priority reconstruction needs for the country through the Reconstruction and Development Programme (Framework), and which informs the United Nations Transition Plan (UNTP) for Somalia (see link in left panel).  The UNTP is the common plan for 2008 to 2009 of all the agencies, funds and programmes of the UN in Somalia, which sets out UN strategy, what it aims to achieve, and how it will do it.

UNDP also chairs the Somalia Operations Management Team and manages the common inter-agency budget.  This covers common resources, premises and facilities, harmonisating policies, rates for services, communications protocols and ICT platforms as well UN agency rules.  It is responsible for matters of security for all agencies in the Somalia UN Country Team.

Additionally, the office of the Resident Coordinator, hosted by UNDP oversees and coordinates the programmes of the different UN agencies working in Somalia.

The situation in Somalia obliges UNDP to run its operations from the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, but the majority of our 270 staff are based in our sub-offices in Somalia itself.  UNDP is represented in nine locations throughout Somalia, with key offices in Mogadishu, Garowe and Hargeisa.