Republic of Moldova

UN Resident Coordinator System

In May 1992, less than one year after the Republic of Moldova gained its independence and started on its way to prosperity and development, the country became member of the United Nations, the organization strongly supporting social progress. Since that time, various UN Agencies, programmes and Funds that launched their programmes in the country in order to assist it on this difficult way have achieved noteworthy successes in fighting against poverty, advancement of women, promotion of the processes of democracy and sound governance, development of the private sector, protection of children's rights, promotion of the health reform, assisting refugees and displaced persons and many other important areas.

The UN Country Team includes UNDP, UNICEF, UNHCR, UNFPA, WHO, ILO, WB, UNIFEM, FAO, IFAD, IMF, UNAIDS, IOM. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (UNCHS), The United National Drug Control Programme (UNDCP), the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), The United Nations Populations Fund (UNFPA), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the United Nations for Project Services (UNOPS) and the World Food Programme (WFP) are represented by the UNDP Resident Representative, who also holds the position of the Resident Coordinator of the UN System's Operational Activities for Development in Moldova. In Moldova, as well as in other countries, UN Agencies, Programmes and Funds that have formal resident representation are named Resident. Those which support the country through programme activities, but do not have resident representation are named Non-Resident.

The main strategies for inter-agency cooperation include the UN system-wide advocacy, information sharing and joint PI work, joint and coordinated programming and maintenance of common services. The United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) is the operational framework, guiding the work of all agencies towards a common vision of human progress in Moldova, with an emphasis on reduced socio-economic disparities and exclusions, protection for the most vulnerable, and securing greater market, political and cultural ties with the European Union. UNDAF is the business plan for the UN system in Moldova for the period 2007-2011.

The Resident Coordinator Annual Reports is an essential element of the accountability and results framework for the UN operational activities at the country level. It provides an opportunity for UNCTs, under the leadership of the resident Coordinator, to report and highlight their collective results in supporting the national development plan and priorities, improve their planning process and identify the support they need. The format of the report is consistent with, and supportive of, developments led by the Secretary-General to strengthen the Resident Coordinator System and the impact of the UN's operational activities at country level. Results from their reports are fed into annual synthesis reports, as well as into the ECOSOC Annual Ministerial Review and Assessment Processes on the operational activities, and the General Assembly's debated and legislation.

UN in Moldova joint programmes and projects

Within the framework of the UNDAF, good progress was made towards joint project design and implementation and inter-agency work. Good practices of joined UN Agencies projects and programmes are 2007 UN Drought Response project design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, design of the Joint Rural Development project, design and resources mobilization for the Joint Protection and Empowerment of victims of domestic violence and human trafficking, and implementation of the Leveraging Migrant Remittances for Entrepreneurial Growth project. The joint UN response to the drought brought together best practices from the theory and practice of humanitarian assistance and presents credible evidence that one UN is more effective than several UN agencies, underscoring the critical role that an effective RC’s office can play. The independent evaluation concluded that the response was highly cost effective as its economic impacts were multiplied many-fold. This was first ever joint UN undertaking involving so many UN Agencies (UNDP, FAO, UNFPA, WFP, and UNICEF). It was a very good example of one UN effort which showed that by working together the Agencies can achieve a greater impact. This experience served as an example for the elaboration and implementation of the 2008 Joint Floods Response Project. Ongoing projects: Project Title Agencies Involved Timeframe Education for All (EFA) Fast Track Initiative UNICEF, WB and UNESCO 2006-2011 Joint project on peer education in HIV/AIDS prevention UNICEF, UNFPA 2007-2010 Strengthening the National Statistical System UNDP, UNIFEM and UNFPA 2007-2011 Joint Project on Protection and Empowerment of Victims of Domestic Violence and Human Trafficking UNDP, UNFPA, IOM, and OSCE 2009-2011 Electoral Support to Moldova UNDP and IOM 2009-2013 Joint Donors Newsletter on Gender UNIFEM, IOM, UNAIDS, UNFPA, ILO 2009