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| Annex 1. Good Practices in Coordination. Country Programming Linkages with the MDGs and SPPRED (PRSP) |
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From the start of UN programming for 2005-2009, the UN agencies in Azerbaijan have joined together for a unified voice in streamlining country programming with the MDGs and the country's PRSP: the State Programme for Poverty Reduction and Economic Development, known as the SPPRED. Consolidating the SPPRED, MDG, and country programming processes is expected to strengthen development impact and reduce redundancies in development assistance. CCA linkage with the MDGs. In 2004 the Global Quality Support Assurance (QSA) Group of UNDGO recognized Azerbaijan's Common Country Assessment (CCA) as a good example of a CCA that relates well to the MDGs: "The UNCT decided that the CCA should build on the SPPRED [Azerbaijan's PRSP] by identifying factors or gaps that could constrain the achievement of the MDGs (pp. 4-5). As a result, the CCA is explicitly linked with the MDGs. A good illustration of this is the table on pages 32-34, that shows Azerbaijan's current situation and the prospects of achievement for each of the MDGs by 2015." CCA linkage with the SPPRED (PRSP). With regard to the CCA's linkage with the MDGs, the Global QSA Group concluded the following in 2004: "The 2003 Azerbaijan CCA is closely linked with the country's PRSP otherwise known as the State Programme for Poverty Reduction and Economic Development (SPPRED) which was completed in 2002, with the key link being that the PRSP was the departure point for CCA analysis. (pp. 3-5). As the SPPRED was completed in 2002 through an inclusive and participatory process involving Government, civil society and UN organizations, including the BWIs, and was accepted as representative of the thinking of the stakeholders, the UNCT decided that the CCA should build on the SPPRED rather than begin a new process of country analysis. In making this decision, the UNCT also took into cognizance the reality that the SPPRED was a comprehensive assessment of strategies required and a road map to address the development challenges facing Azerbaijan and therefore should be the basis for the CCA and the UNDAF. The preparation of the CCA therefore followed a close examination of the SPPRED and its strategic aims to ensure that the national poverty reduction document could form the basis for the analysis of the concerns of the UN system in the country. From the six themes contained in the SPPRED, three were selected by the CCA working groups, which included Government representatives, as the development challenges to be focused on by the CCA. These themes were human displacement, governance and social protection/basic services. The CCA analysis was also supported by several information sources, foremost of which being the SPPRED and its policy matrix. It is in this sense that the CCA is said to be building on the SPPRED. "The CCA's strong linkage with the SPPRED was also reflected in an excellent assessment of the challenges faced by the country as it undertook the transition to a market economy. One example of this is the profile of poverty in Azerbaijan, as shown in Box 1 (pp 13) which summarises the key features of poverty in the country, thereby providing a backdrop for the administrative and institutional reform that is necessary for making the transition to a market economy, and the role of UN agencies in supporting the process." UNDAF linkage with SPPRED and MDGs. The participatory process of preparing Azerbaijan's UNDAF for 2005-2009 drew upon the SPPRED and CCA in identifying national priorities and UNDAF Outcomes. In the UNDAF, the UN agencies commit to supporting the data collection, research, and monitoring functions of the Government, particularly regarding progress toward the MDGs and the targets of the SPPRED and subsequent national poverty reduction strategies. The UNDAF M&E Framework is based on MDG indicators and commits the UN agencies to advocating and supporting the MDG/SPPRED process in a synchronized way. | |
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