The national government is a principal UNDP partner in Belarus. It provides cost sharing to a number of UNDP projects. The majority of on-going UNDP projects have the ministries, state committees and state-run universities as implementing agencies. The focal points for cooperation with UNDP within Belarus’ government are the Ministry of Economy (technical cooperation) and Ministry of Foreign Affairs (other issues).

Central to the approach UNDP uses in Belarus is foster partnerships among civil society and government, and to build the capacity of civil society to address the development issues faced by the country. Civil society organizations have been traditional partners for UNDP in project implementation in those spheres, where they have comparative advantages, and are involved to some degree with all projects. International NGOs have also been important donors to UNDP programme.

UNDP would never be able to provide sufficient assistance to Belarus without donor support. UNDP projects are co-financed by several different donors, including UN system agencies (UNICEF, UNHCR, WHO, etc.), multilateral international organisations and funds (European Union, OSCE, GEF, GFATM, USAID, etc.), governments (Canada, United Kingdom, Japan, etc.), and international and foreign NGOs (European Business Congress, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, etc.).

In recent years the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has been the largest donor for UNDP in Belarus. It has supported a number of healthcare projects. The Global Fund’s grants have contributed to the continuation of efforts to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS in Belarus and to make improvements to the system for effective diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis.

Belarus benefits from considerable international technical assistance provided by the European Union. UNDP and the EU have recently implemented a number of joint projects focusing on further strengthening of border management, combating human and illegal drug trafficking, supporting the environment and sustainable development at the local level, and also area-based development of the Chernobyl-affected regions. Another EU-funded large-scale project will facilitate the development of a comprehensive international cooperation framework in the area of environmental protection in Belarus.

Funds from the Global Environment Facility are used by UNDP for several large-scale projects on improving energy efficiency in public sector enterprises and creating a conducive environment for the sustainable performance of the wetland protection system in Belarus. The Small Grants Programme initiated by UNDP in Belarus has provided funding to non-governmental and community-based environmental organisations to aid in the implementation of their projects.