Full Form of UNDP – United Nations Development Program

The UN Development Program (UNDP) is the United Nations’ global development network. It advocates for change and connects countries to knowledge, experience, and resources that can help people build a better future for themselves. The UNDP is putting more of an emphasis on providing developing countries with expert advice, training, and grant support as they work to find solutions to global and national development challenges. UNDP, on the other hand, will only provide assistance if other countries request it.

The UNDP is supported solely by voluntary contributions from UN member states. The organization works with local governments to meet development challenges and build local capacity in 177 countries to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by focusing on a variety of issues, including poverty reduction and HIV/AIDS. UNDP Administrator ranked as the third-highest official in the United Nations after Secretary-General and Deputy Secretary-General.

History of UNDP

After EPTA and the Special Fund were merged on November 22nd, 1965, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) was born. [5] The rationale was to “avoid [their] activities being] duplicated.” The EPTA was established in 1949 to aid economically and politically underdeveloped countries, while the Special Fund aimed to broaden the scope of UN technical assistance.

The Special Fund was conceived from the idea of a Special United Nations Fund for Economic Development (SUNFED), originally known as the United Nations Fund for Economic Development (UNFED).

Countries like Norway and the Nordic countries advocated for a United Nations-controlled fund. A large number of developed countries, particularly the US, were opposed to the fund because they were concerned about Third World dominance and preferred the World Bank overseeing it.

In order to create the Special Fund, the idea of SUNFED was dropped. While it did not provide investment capital, this Special Fund did help create the conditions for private investment. It was a compromise over the SUNFED concept.

UNDP Special Funds

The EPTA and the Special Fund appeared to be carrying out similar work in the wake of the United States’ proposal and establishment of the International Development Association under the auspices of the World Bank. For more than a decade before the UN Development Program was born, a UN Economic and Social Council committee asked the Secretary-General to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of combining UN technical assistance programs.

Israeli intelligence agency Shin Bet made public the arrest of Wahid Abdallah al Bursh, a Palestinian engineer working for the United Nations Development Program, in August of that year. Shin Bet said in a statement that Wahid admitted to being recruited by Hamas in 2014 and had confessed as much.

Recent Developments In UNDP

According to the Shin Bet statement, among his “various assignments” for Gaza’s dominant Islamist group was assistance in the construction of a maritime jetty for the group’s fighters “using UNDP resources.”

Members of the UNDP’s staff, as well as the Bush administration, have blasted the organization for financial irregularities in North Korea. While employees were paid in Euros, Artjon Shkurtaj claimed that he discovered counterfeit US dollars in the programs’ safe. The UNDP has denied any wrongdoing and improper account keeping.

The UN Development Program (UNDP) serves as a vital hub for UN development efforts. The UN Development Group and the Resident Coordinator System are primarily responsible for this.