The Ugandan government and the United Nations on Tuesday signed a new five-year 865 million U.S. dollar framework that will see the UN aligns its development activities with the country's new National Development Plan (NDP).
A joint statement issued here said that the framework dubbed United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) will raise the funds which will support the fields of governance and human rights and sustainable livelihoods among
others with special focus on war-ravaged northern Uganda.
The framework was signed by Syda Bbumba, the Ugandan minister of finance, planning and economic development, Théophane Nikyema, the UN resident coordinator and heads of UN agencies represented in Uganda, at the ministry's office in Kampala.
"With this UNDAF, the UN is committed to supporting the efforts of the government to
build on the gains of the Poverty Eradication Action Plan and further strengthen development
in Uganda," said Nikyema.
"It is the UN's collective response strategy to support Uganda' s capacity to deliver the
NDP, with a vision of equity and inclusion, peace and recovery, population and sustainable growth," he added.
Bbumba said the UN's partnership with the Ugandan government will help the country in
achieving the UN Millennium Development Goals.
"The government of Uganda reaffirms its commitment to achieving the targets envisaged
in the Millennium Declaration and the Millennium Development Goals, and sees the partnership with the UN valuable towards achieving these goals," she said.
The new UNDAF, designed in line with the UN's Delivering as One strategy, replaces one that was launched in 2006.
The first UNDAF in Uganda, covering the period 2006-2010, was cut short by a year so as to allow the UN system to align its support with the NDP. The new UNDAF is expected to start next year The NDP scheduled to be launched early next year will run from 2010/11 to 2014/15. It will replace the Poverty Eradication Action Plan.