About UNDP in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Integrated Local Development Programme activities in Bihac

The United Nations Development Programme in BiH, with the support of UNDP's global network, has been helping the country to attract and use international assistance since 1996. Our main goals are the reconstruction of the country following the conflict, supporting and building national capacity in key sectors, advancing human development and helping to shift the focus of development planning from post-war recovery to long-term strategic development.

The work of the UN Country Team (UNCT) in BiH – and thereby the work of the UNDP – is guided by a mid-term strategic United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF). The current UNDAF for BiH covers the period 2015-2019 and was signed with the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina in June 2015. It recognises the aspirations of Bosnia and Herzegovina to become a member of the European Union as the overarching BiH priority and focuses on four priority areas of assistance: rural and regional development, social  inclusion and democratic governance, justice and security, and energy and environment.

The focus of the next generation of joint UN programmes (which will cover 2015-2019) is to address the acute BiH developmental challenges in the areas of reconciliation and inter-cultural dialogue, justice and security, sustainable livelihoods, social inclusion and the environment.

In close collaboration with other UN Agencies, UNDP focusses its programme on the four priority areas of the UNDAF, with the goal of improving the lives of the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina, of strengthening  efforts to achieve a peaceful democratic society and of helping BiH to achieve long-term sustainable development. Consultations with senior key officials in the government and amongst the donor community indicate that the expected programme results will make strategic contributions in helping BiH achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

BiH's strategic priority is accession to the EU. Therefore, in order to assist the country on its European path, our programme for 2015-2019 is streamlined through the following carefully-planned sectoral issues:

1. Strengthening democratic governance, including building and developing government capacities.
2. Reducing social exclusion and aligning social policies with European standards and ratified UN and other international conventions.
3. Promoting rural and regional development with an emphasis on socio-economic recovery and poverty reduction.
4. Improving security through disarmament and security sector reforms and promoting judicial reform with an emphasis on war crimes prosecutions, transitional justice, access to justice and victim and witness support activities.
5. Developing and implementing biodiversity and water conservation and energy efficiency initiatives.

UNDP Key Results up to 2016

Employment/Livelihoods

• 1,142 new jobs (including 286 green jobs) created through support to private sector and assistance to delivery of employment-creation public measures.
• More than 100 micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs)  supported by UNDP in 2016, while 79 companies benefitted from improved business infrastructure.
• Compared to 2015, UNDP has increased the total number of jobs created by 40% (676 jobs in 2015 and 1,142 jobs in 2016).
• With UNDP’s support, new investments worth US$ 8 million were attracted in various localities
• During the first two years of implementation of the Country Programme Document (2015-2019), UNDP has supported the creation of 2,097 jobs in total and is on track to achieve the set 2019 target of 3,000 jobs.
• 6,698 people (4,164 male and 2,534 female) improved livelihoods and income streams with UNDP’s support in 2016.
• Compared to 2015, the number of people benefiting from livelihood assistance has increased by 20%.
  

Infrastructure/Better access to public services

• Quality and accessibility of administrative, communal and legal aid services were improved for more than 300,000 citizens (43% women), which sums up to 1.3 million citizens (one-third of the country’s population) with better quality of life of since 2015.
• More than 3,700 households in underdeveloped areas benefited from improved water supply, 40,000 households gained better waste management service, while 500 socially excluded from flood-affected localities could return in their renewed homes and resume life in normal living conditions.

Disaster Risk Reduction

• UNDP supported building resilience to disasters by mainstreaming disaster risk reduction into strategies. Risk of flooding has been eliminated for 172 households and 354 ha of arable land.
  

Fighting TB And HIV

• Tuberculosis incidence in Bosnia and Herzegovina reduced to 37/100,000 in 2016. It is expected that the remaining reduction to 35/100,000 (20/100,000 remaining) will be reached as planned by 2018.
• 19, 406 people reached by behavioral change communication/HIV.
  

Sustainable Management of Environmental and Energy Resources

• Through UNDP’s support, more than 60 public buildings entered the heating season with improved energy efficiency, reducing heating costs by over 30% and emissions of greenhouse gases - by more than 4,000 tons/per year.
• Since 2015, the energy consumption in public sector buildings has decreased from 220 kWh/m2 to 215 kWh/m2, while the volume of public investments in energy efficiency by partner authorities has doubled, reaching US$ 3.4 million.
  

Reduction of Surplus Ammunition and Remnants of War

•   With UNDP’s support, the Ministry of Defense managed to dispose over 3,000 tons of ammunition, thus reducing the surplus by 35% to 11,000 tons and shortening the duration of disposal process by at least 5 years.
  

Rule of Law

• With UNDP’s support, Access to free legal aid services was ensured to additional 14,991 citizens (7,005 male and 7,986 female). In 13 operational Victim Witness Support offices in BiH, 797 victims received psycho social support.
  

Making Space for Dialogue, promoting coexistence and respecting diversity in Bosnia and Herzegovina

• 1300 young people actively engaged in community-level initiatives aimed at promoting dialogue, peace building and diversity;                                                                        
  
• 4, 500 citizens (women, youth and socially excluded) participated in 202 forums orga-nized in 125 local communities and had the opportunity to voice out problems and challenges in their local communities and seek for a solution.
  
  

UN Resident Coordinator, who is the Executive Representative of the UN Secretary General, heads the UN Country Team in Bosnia and Herzegovina and is also the Resident Representative of UNDP in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

UNDP Country Office in BiH is managed by UNDP Resident Representative, Ms. Sezin Sinanoglu and UNDP Deputy Resident Representative, Mr. Sukhrob Khoshmukhamedov who are responsible for ensuring the effective day-to-day management of UNDP Country Office and assume overall responsibility for the UNDP programmes and operations to ensure coherence and strategic direction of UNDP activities.

UNDP works in close collaboration with the governmental institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina at all levels through the key Ministries, Departments and Agencies. The implementation of UNDP programme activities are carried out by implementing Partners as appropriate, including national and local Government partners and civil society organizations.

UNDP in Bosnia and Herzegovina focuses on four programme areas that are managed by Sector Coordinators – Democratic Governance and Social Inclusion, Justice and Security, Rural and Regional Development and Energy and Environment.