United Nations to review Albania’s progress in Delivering as One UN

TIRANA, April 30 – United Nations Ambassadors from Ireland and Tanzania, serving as Co-Chairs to United Nations General Assembly consultations on system-wide coherence, will hold a two-day visit to Albania to assess the work on UN reform and delivering as One UN, as part of a tour in countries involved in the project.
Augustine Mahiga of Tanzania and Paul Kavanagh of Ireland will meet with senior Albanian officials and with the United Nations team, development partners, members of the donor community and international organizations. They will also consult with civil society representatives.
Eight countries – Albania, Cape Verde, Mozambique, Pakistan, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uruguay and Viet Nam – volunteered to pilot the One UN model programs in 2007.
Currently, eleven resident and non-resident UN agencies, funds and programmes have come together to strategically contribute to Albania’s development priorities under the One UN Programme.
The One UN Programme was signed in October 2007.
Five programme pillars aim to improve governance, increase participation in public decision-making, improve access and quality to basic public services, reduce regional disparities and foster environmental sustainability. Capacity development is a critical support to the Government’s development objectives and the concerted focus on gender equality is geared towards ensuring that women actively participate in democratic governance, and the public sector improves its record of responsiveness to women’s rights and needs. (Tirana Times Staff)