UNDP-Zambia - About UNDP Zambia

UNDP Zambia's mission is to build national capacity to help Zambia achieve the Millennium Development Goals. In order to deliver effectively, UNDP Zambia focuses its support on HIV/AIDS, environment and natural resources and democratic and economic governance.

UNDP's presence and activities in Zambia are defined broadly in the Standard Basic Assistance Agreement (SBAA). The SBAA between the Government of the Republic of Zambia and UNDP outlines general conditions for UNDP cooperation under which all UNDP programme activities are carried out in Zambia. The current SBAA for Zambia was signed in 1983. UNDP's activities are defined in more detail in the Country Programme Document and Country Programme Action Plan. These documents can be downloaded here.

UNDP Zambia has different roles in the development sphere of Zambia

UNDP Zambia as a coordinator. UNDP leads the United Nations resident coordinator system in the pursuit of United Nations reform at the country level. The country office led the finalization of the UN Development Assistance Framework, which is the basis for joint and harmonized programming within the United Nations country team. In 2006, UNDP participated in multi-partner effort to prepare the joint assistance strategy for Zambia (JASZ). Read more about the Resident Coordinator system
UNDP Zambia as a convenor and facilitator. UNDP is not a donor. The neutral and cross-disclipinary character of UNDP makes it well suited to convene and facilitate multi-stakeholder efforts in support of national priorities, including civil society and the private sector. Such a role enables national counterparts to focus on debating, defining and leading the national agenda, and provides donors with a convenient vehicle for dialogue as well as the transparent and coordinated management of support.
UNDP Zambia as a long-term investor in national capacity. UNDP Zambia focuses on what it can do best: to bolster national ownership, to pragmatically invest in long-term national capacity development while attending to short-term delivery priorities. UNDP provides critical analytical inputs that can help to make the aid encounter a more effective one for all parties concerned.
UNDP Zambia as an embracer and champion of change. By 2010, the last year of both the Fifth National Development Plan (FNDP) for Zambia and UNDP's country programme, Zambia will, it is intended, have made strides towards the national development objectives of the FNDP and of Vision 2030. UNDP, as part of the UN development system, will have further articulated its role within the post-Paris aid environment and have achieved greater system-wide coherence in the realms of development, environment and humanitarian assistance

UNDP Zambia's recent successes

HIV and AIDS: Main achievements of UNDP's support for Zambia's multi-sectoral response to fight HIV and AIDS include 70 UNV volunteer specialists, who assisted the National AIDS Council in the development of District Development strategic plans. The National UN Volunteers have been pivotal in making the district AIDS Task Forces functional. UNDP's project to develop capacity for people living with AIDS to access business development services has proven successful. The number of people living with HIV enrolled in support groups supported by the project, increased from 49 757 in 2006 to 105 110 in the end of 2008. The number of support groups has increased from 2177 to 3908 in only two years.

Elections: After the sudden death of the President of Zambia Levy Mwanawasa in August 2008, UNDP together with other cooperating partners mobilized more than $6 million and established an Open Trust Fund to support the Government of Zambia to organize the elections. Within three months, 6500 voter education facilitators were trained and 50 000 electoral officers were trained, tested and certified. The transition to a new president was peaceful.

Microfinance: UNDP's Microfinance for Poverty Reduction project reached more than 3500 families in more than 80 villages and compounds in Lusaka and Chongwe. The repayment rate of the loans has remained in 100%. This result contributes directly to the Millennium Development Goals on povery, hunger and education; many clients are using the profits to buy food for family and send their children to school.

Management and staff

Resident Representative: Kanni Wignaraja
Country Director: Viola Morgan
Deputy Country Director: Georgina Fekete
Deputy Resident Representative (Operations): Dancilla Mukarubayiza
If you wish to contact UNDP management, call switchboard: +260 211 250 800

Total number of staff in January 2010 was 60. (with 100, 200 and 300 series contracts)
49 of the staff are national employees and 11 international
List of staff and contact details