At the half-way point of its present 5-year programme cycle of 2003-2007, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) held a one-day stakeholders meeting on Sunday 29 May 2005 under the patronage of H.E. Suhair Al-Ali, Minister of Planning and International Cooperation to discuss how UNDP can enhance effectiveness, improve efficiency and increase positive and long lasting impact of its programme on the lives of Jordanian citizens.
UNDP has long been a development partner for the government of Jordan. Through providing financial and technical assistance to Jordan its projects focus on poverty eradication, promoting good governance and protecting the environment and natural resources. It also pays particular attention to promoting ICT for Development, gender equality and equity, the inclusion of youth in development programmes and human rights protection.
The opening session of the meeting included statements by Mr. Maher Madadhah, Secretary-General of Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation on behalf of H.E. the Minister and Ms. Christine McNab, UNDP Resident Representative.
UNDP staff, project managers, stakeholders, government and national partners and some of the UN agencies in Jordan discussed the preliminary findings of the UNDP Country Programme Mid Term Review (MTR) exercise.
“Due to the complex nature of the new programmes and the multidimensional interventions adopted by the UNDP team, in addition to the fact that we have reached the midst of this partnership, it is imminent to hold this stakeholder discussion forum to share experiences of the past two years” said Mr. Maher Madadhah.
The MTR was undertaken by an independent consultant with the participation of a team from UNDP and the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation, UNDP’s government counterpart. The review is an excellent opportunity to reflect achievements to date, problems encountered along the way, and solutions to enhance the volume and quality of project delivery between now and the end of the programme cycle. “This meeting is the end of the analysis stage and is the beginning of action”, said Christine McNab, UNDP Resident Representative.
She added “A high quality programme that is relevant, effective and well focused will definitely contribute to the development of Jordan”. The participants examined the relevance of UNDP's projects to Jordan priorities and the country's achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. They also identified actions that need to be taken by all stakeholders to improve the performance impact and delivery of the different UNDP projects.
During the Closing Session, a summary of the main findings and recommendations of the working groups was presented to the Minister of Planning and International Cooperation . The Minister thanked UNDP for its constant efforts in assisting Jordan in its work in sustainable development and commended the work of the MTR Group and the recommendations that came up at the end of the day. “The Government of Jordan encourages the open work relationships, and it is very important that we utilize the maximum value of fundings to effectively improve the lives of our citizens”
As a result, a final MTR Report that incorporates and endorses action and strategies that address some of the key concerns will be produced. The Report will be used as a guideline for the rest of the UNDP Programme Cycle 2003-2007 and for the preparation of its next Programme Cycle.