UNDP partners with people at all levels of society to help build nations that can withstand crisis, and drive and sustain the kind of growth that improves the quality of life for everyone.

In Zimbabwe, UNDP's programmatic focus is underpinned on MDG Goal 1: "Eradication of Extreme Poverty and Hunger". In this respect, assisting in the transition from humanitarian relief to early recovery, advocating for dialogue among stakeholders, assisting the country in pro-poor policy formulation and supporting capacity enhancement of national institutions with a strong emphasis on governance and human rights form the core of UNDP's work in Zimbabwe.Informed by these considerations and based on a participatory programming process, the UNDP Country Program Document for Zimbabwe 2007-2009 formulated the following three broad strategic areas as the major focus for the new programming cycle:

• Support to domestic and international dialogue that can help build consensus on Zimbabwe's challenges
• Strengthen the capacity of national institutions to deliver on MDGs, provide basic social services with particular attention to vulnerable groups and;
• Support to the transition to recovery and development.

These three priority areas of intervention were translated into five specific programme outcomes, which also reflect UNDP's five practice areas. More information of how these outcomes are operationalised through projects/program is to be found under the respective practice areas:

• Poverty Reduction: Strengthened national capacity to formulate, monitor and implement pro-poor policies.
• Democratic Governance: Strengthened systems, institutions, mechanisms, processes that promote governance, dialogue, gender equality and the rule of law.
• Crisis Prevention and Recovery: Enhanced sustainable livelihoods, recovery and disaster risk management integrated into development planning.
• Energy and Environment: Improved natural resource use and environmental management.
• HIV and AIDS: Effective management and coordination of the national HIV/AIDS response in the context of the Three Ones, including advocacy and resource mobilisation.

Vision
To be a credible and leading development partner of choice in Zimbabwe for promoting sustainable human development.

Mission Statement
To strategically support Zimbabwe's development agenda towards the achievement of the MDGs and economic recovery.

UNDP in Zimbabwe
The partnership between the Government of Zimbabwe and UNDP dates back to 1980, when the Standard Basic Service Agreement (SBSA), which provides the legal framework for the cooperation, was signed by both parties. In 1997, the Government of Zimbabwe and UNDP formulated the first Country Cooperation Framework (CCF) for Zimbabwe, covering the period 1997 to 2000. On the basis of an evaluation of the first CCF, the second CCF (2000 to 2003) was formulated, emphasizing on economic policy advocacy, governance and the combat of HIV/AIDS. The second CCF was extended to 2006 to allow for implementation of outstanding activities in the light of the complex and emerging socio-economic and political challenges that Zimbabwe has been facing since the year 2000.

Development Challenges and Operating Environment
Following a decade of political and economic crisis, Zimbabwe is making a significant turnaround towards stabilization and recovery. The country has seen positive GDP growth rates of 5.7 % in 2009, 8.1 % in 2010 and an estimated growth rate of 9.3% in 2011. It is faced with the consolidation, albeit fragile due to political challenges, of the socio-economic gains of the transition from recovery to development. The macro-economic outlook in 2011 remained stable due to strong reforms in public finance management and this was demonstrated by the positive GDP growth rate of 9.3%, annualized inflation averaging 4% and a significant improvement in revenue collection which stood at 30% of GDP or US$3 billion, as compared with US$1.4 billion in 2009.

Despite this positive economic trend, the economy is still vulnerable to structural and other risks. These include the non-clearance of the debt arrears estimated at US$7 billion, high public sector wage bill representing 63% of the recurrent expenditure, policy inconsistency especially on implementation of the indigenization law and the outstanding reforms agreed in the 2008 GPA. The Government is taking steps to address some of the challenges and  a number of political and economic reforms were initiated in 2011. The launch of the 2011-2015 Medium Term Plan (MTP) and the 2012-2015 Budget Strategy Paper will consolidate the macro-economic stability and put the economy on a strong path of sustainable development that is inclusive and equitable.

There is also momentum to finalize the drafting of the Constitution and a draft has been published and it is anticipated that it will be tabled at the second all-stakeholders’ conference, and a referendum thereafter. The Government has earmarked US$30 million in the 2012 budget  to support the implementation of outstanding GPA provisions such as the Constitution-making process, the national referendum and the constitutional commissions.

Consolidating the gains achieved so far will require further solidifying the political and economic reforms agreed in the GPA. This will entail restoration of capacities that were eroded during the crisis period, enhancing the capacity to raise domestic revenue,  and  the resumption of relations with the International Financial Institutions and bilateral donors in order to access development funds and to strengthen the coordination mechanism for aid and development effectiveness through a strong accountability and partnership mechanisms.

Globally, Zimbabwe remains among the countries with high HIV infection rates; it carries the third largest HIV burden in Southern Africa and has one of the highest rates of premature adult mortality, largely due to HIV related illnesses. Latest estimates place the adult HIV prevalence at 14.26 percent, which brings the estimated number of people living with HIV to 1.2 million, including 150,000 children under 15.

Achievements

The UNDP CO has  spearheaded support to governance reforms, including support to the implementation of key aspects of the 2008 GPA. In 2011, support was rendered to the constitution-making process and to national healing, reconciliation and integration. The two processes reinforce each other in creating a conducive environment for political dialogue necessary for nurturing sustainable peace and development.

Support to constitution-making has covered financial, procedural, substantive and advisory support throughout the lifespan of the process, from consultation, through data compilation and analysis, to drafting. A draft constitution has been published. 

UNDP extends support to the Organ for National Healing, Reconciliation and Integration in developing a Code of Conduct for Political Parties to be signed by all the major political parties and  has supported the drafting of a policy to establish a permanent peace-building architecture, the National Peace and Reconciliation Council.  This support is making a significant contribution to addressing  politically motivated violence and has created new platforms for dialogue.

UNDP assisted the Government to formulate a pro-poor and inclusive national development strategy, the 2011-2015 Medium Term Plan (MTP). This is the first economic blueprint in a long time and provides a solid macro-economic framework for consolidating the still fragile gains of recent economic recovery. The successful implementation of the MTP, which is anchored on inclusive growth policies, will bring significant economic transformation. The MTP was extensively used in the formulation of the 2012 Budget.

To advance the principles of development effectiveness for coherent interactions between Government and development partners, UNDP is assisting the Government to put in place an Aid and Development Results Mechanism. The expected long-term impacts of this process is to ensure more transparency, accountability and that both donor and public resources are channelled towards a unified agenda, as defined in the MTP, as well as to ensure national ownership of the development process in Zimbabwe.

Through its principal recipientship of Global Fund, UNDP has supported national capacity building to deal with HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis. Malaria incidence declined from 10.6% in 2007 to 4.9% in 2010; a total of 370,128 adults and children with advanced HIV are currently on ART and 84% HIV-infected pregnant women are receiving ARV prophylaxis to reduce the risk of mother-to-child transmission of HIV; and  the survival rate of adults and children on ARV 12 months after initiation improved from under 70% in 2009 to 86.4% in 2011.

The 2012-2015 UNDP Country Programme

Implemented under the overall umbrella of achieving the Millennium Development Goals by 2015, and the national planning tool (the Medium Term Plan), the overriding objective of the 2012–2015 UNDP country programme is to support Zimbabwe in meeting its development goals, that is, delivering on six of the seven national development priorities set out in the Zimbabwe United Nations Development Assistance Framework (ZUNDAF) 2012–2015 document.

Therefore, UNDP will render its support through the following three programmatic areas:

1. Citizen participation and good governance.
2. Economic management and sustainable development.
3. Social sector development and resilient livelihoods.

The programmatic areas are derived from the two overarching strategic programme pillars articulated in the Country Programme Document, namely sustaining the momentum on and consolidating governance reforms, and, promoting economic reforms and early recovery for sustainable livelihoods.

CONTEXT
In developing the 2012–2015 country programme, cognizance was taken of the fact that the country is emerging from a debilitating socioeconomic decline and is thus transitioning to a stable development path. Hence, while the programme is focused on critical areas where the UNDP has strong competence, the programme has also been designed to be sufficiently flexible to respond to emerging needs and challenges. The country programme is informed by the recommendations of the mid-term review of the 2007–2011 country programmes, national MDG progress reports and outcome evaluations of the previous programme. The 2008– 2013 UNDP Corporate Strategic Plan and the UNDP Regional Bureau for Africa (RBA) Strategy and Management Review all guided the development of the new country programme, focusing on capacity development for pro-poor growth and accountability. The programme is also guided by a rights-based approach, focusing on providing policy advice and strengthening national capacities.

PROGRAMME COMPONENTS

Citizen Participation and Good Governance
UNDP support under this component will focus on five key interventions critical to the country’s ability to sustain political and economic recovery:

• Enhancing national capacities for the promotion and protection of human rights, the rule of law and access to justice for all
• Strengthening national capacities for peacebuilding and for dialogue, national healing and reconciliation and integration
• Improving accountability mechanisms and public service delivery capacity
• Enhancing people’s participation in decision-making and democratic processes, including constitution making
• Promoting laws, policies and frameworks that will ensure gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls.

Economic Management and Sustainable Development
Under this programmatic area, UNDP’s support will focus on two main areas:

• Strengthening the capacities of institutions responsible for economic management and evidence based policy formulation and implementation, including the Government’s aid co-ordination mechanisms;
• The management of land, natural resources and climate change, hence contributing to food security.

Both areas will contribute to accelerated progress towards meeting MDG targets and economic recovery in Zimbabwe.

Social Sector and Livelihoods
The MTP states that Zimbabwe is moving towards development and the restoration of sustainable livelihoods. To this end, the UNDP will support upstream policy work and downstream community interventions to enhance the country’s ability to move towards full recovery and development and create structures to support the development of resilient communities.

The UNDP focuses its support on piloting innovative and high-impact projects to restore community livelihoods and government structures supporting livelihoods creation through the following:

• Creating opportunities for income-generation in targeted districts. Interventions under the new country programme
• Support to infrastructure and livelihood stabilization, local economic recovery for employment and income-generation and support to market creation and market linkages

In addition, based on the UN division of labour on HIV and AIDS, the UNDP will focus its support on strengthening the capacity of national institutions to manage and co-ordinate the national HIV and AIDS response as well as support human rights challenges.

In its role as Principal Recipient, UNDP will provide support to the management and implementation of the Global Fund programme with the aim of contributing to the national goal of

• Reducing the number of new HIV infections among adults and children;
• Reducing morbidity and mortality due to HIV and AIDS;
• Reducing the burden of tuberculosis (TB) by 2015 in line with the MDG 6 and Stop TB partnership;
• Lowering the malaria incidence rate from 10 per cent to 3.5 per cent of the population by 2014.

PARTNERSHIP STRATEGY
The UNDP will operationalize its programme of support under the active leadership of the Government of Zimbabwe and in full partnership with national partners. The UNDP’s partnership strategy will seek to strengthen and support such Government leadership and actively work with the Government to develop stronger partnership networks.

In addition, the Country Office will continue to provide support to the UN Resident Coordinator system and also fully participate in all UN Country Team initiatives. Under the ZUNDAF 2012–2015, and guided by the Joint  Implementation Matrix, the UN’s internal implementation tool for identifying joint operationalization activities of the ZUNDAF, the joint work of the UN system will be centred around the seven priority areas of the ZUNDAF. UNDP will either lead, co-lead or actively participate in six of these areas, namely:

1. Good governance for sustainable development (lead role).
2. Sound management and use of the environment, natural resources and land to promote sustainable development (lead role).
3. Pro-poor sustainable growth and economic development (lead role).
4. Food and nutrition security at household and national levels
5. Universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support.
6. Women’s empowerment, gender equality and equity.

 Important Documents

Standard Basic Framework Agreement (SBBA)

 Country Programme Document 2012-2015 (60.29 kB)

 CPAP 2012 - 2015 (2.65 MB)

Country Plan Document 2007 - 2009

Country Programme Action Plan (CPAP)

Outcome Evaluation of the the 2007 - 2011 Country Programme of Action

National Implementation by the Government of UNDP Supported Projects: Guidelines and Procedures