The United Nations Country Team (UNCT) in Jordan consists of 16 agencies, funds, and programmes namely UNDP, UNWomen, UNFPA, UNICEF, UNHCR, UNRWA, UNHABITAT, UNESCO, UNOPS, FAO, WFP, WHO, IOM, ILO and UNIDO. In addition to these 16 resident agencies, the UNCT in Jordan works closely with a number of non-resident UN agencies including UNODC, IFAD, IAEA, OHCHR and UNEP. The UNCT, comprising all head
s of agencies comes together at regular intervals under the leadership of the RC on issues ranging from development and humanitarian assistance within Jordan to issues pertaining to common or shared facilities and services. The guiding framework under which the UNCT operates in Jordan is the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF). In this context the UNCT meets to ensure that implementation of the UNDAF is in line with the workplan, that it remains relevant, and that it is responsive to national priorities and targets. The UNCT joins forces to provide a well coordinated, focused, and coherent response to Jordan’s development and humanitarian challenges. No single UN agency has the full range of skills, knowledge, and experience to tackle the multi-dimensional challenges of development. Working together, the UN System can provide assistance to a wide range of issues, and can ensure that the support provided by each agency is complementary, rather than duplicative. The real benefit of UN coordination is therefore the increased impact of UN System contribution in support to Jordanian stakeholders. Other important benefits include the reduced transaction costs for Government; strengthened national capacity for monitoring impact on poverty reduction and other important national goals. UN coordination also increases recognition by Governments and other partners of the potential strength of the UN System, when it works together coherently. The UN system in Jordan develops programmes and operations in collaboration with the Government and other national stakeholders and always taking into account the specificities of the Jordanian context. Programmatically and operationally, the UNCT in Jordan comes together under the umbrella of the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF). The formulation of Jordan’s third UNDAF (2013- 2017) began in 2011. Within the context of political and economic changes, the preparation of the UNDAF was undertaken through a participatory process. It allowed the formulation of an adequate joint response of the UNCT, the Government, and stakeholders to the national development priorities, with the view to accelerate the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. Four strategic priority areas were identified under the UNDAF:
• Enhancing Systematic Reform.
• Ensuring Social Equity.
• Investing in Young People.
• Preserving the Environment. The framework is fully aligned with Jordan’s key national socio-economic plans: the National Agenda 2007-2017 and the Executive Development Programme 2011-2013. The UN development system, composed of all UN agencies, reiterates its will to increase the level of cooperation within the new programme cycle of 2013-2017 in order to effectively support to the Government and work closely with partners to tackle the national development challenges.
