The United Nations Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative, Ms. Consuelo Vidal presented her credentials to the Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Mr. Manouchehr Mottaki on Tuesday 26 January 2010. Ms. Vidal is the designated representative of the Secretary-General of the UN in the Islamic Republic of Iran with the responsibility to bring together different resident and non-resident UN agencies, funds and programs and coordinate their operational activities for development at the country level. In her remarks while presenting her credentials to Mr. Mottaki, Ms. Vidal expressed the commitment of the UN Agencies, funds and programs work in Iran, to support the development of the country in a coordinated way.

New York, Dec 1 2009 - The international community observes World AIDS Day each year on December 1st. On this day we focus this year on the need for effective HIV/AIDS prevention, care, treatment, and support. Data released by UNAIDS this week in its 2009 AIDS Epidemic Update suggests that new HIV infections around the world have been reduced by seventeen percent since the 2001 signature of the United Nations Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS.  Over the past five years, there have also been significant successes in increasing access to life saving treatment, with over four million people in developing countries now accessing necessary medication and approximately 2.9 million lives already saved. The most significant successes in the response to HIV/AIDS have used human rights based programming to translate good public health practice and scientific innovation into real results for people and communities. This has facilitated...

Tehran, October 14 2009 - The First National Meeting on the Role of Women  in Crisis and Disaster Risk Management, was organized by Kosarieh  Sisters Theology School in Tehran on the 11th of October. The meeting which was co-sponsored and technically supported by UNDP and the Government of Iran’s joint project on Strengthening Capacities for Disaster Risk Management, was organized by the Kosarieh Sisters Theology School in Tehran and invited national experts to share their technical knowledge and experiences on the subject matter. The one-day event attracted over 300 participants, who got the opportunity to listen to presentations regarding women’s role in crisis and disaster risk management, participate in a range of workshops and visit an exhibition on crisis and disaster risk management. The DRM project displayed a number of community and public awareness raising materials that have been produced for disaster risk reduction....

Tehran, 11 October 2009 - Allowing for migration—both within and between countries—has the potential to increase people’s freedom and improve the lives of millions around the world, according to the 2009 Human Development Report launched globally on October 5th. The latest HDR report 2009 tackles the topic of migration and argues that in our highly mobile world, migration is not only inevitable but also an important dimension of human development. Nearly one billion—or one out of seven—people are migrants. “Migration can be a force for good, contributing significantly to human development,” says United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator Helen Clark. “But to realize its benefits, there needs to be a supportive policy environment as this Report suggests.” Indeed, migration can raise a person’s income, health and education prospects. Most importantly, being able to decide where to live...

Tehran, 17 June 2009 – On the World Day to Combat Desertification, it is important to highlight that desertification and land degradation are not only global problems but also a national problem for the Islamic Republic of Iran.   UNDP’s Resident Representative at interim (RR a.i.) Ms. Elzira Sagynbaeva and the Programme Analyst for the Energy and Environment cluster; Mr. Saeid Ferdowsi attended a UNDP-Government joint event at the Forest Rangeland and Watershed Management Organization (FRWMO) Headquarters in Tehran, to commemorate the World Day to Combat Desertification (WDCD). The Resident Coordinator at interim (RC a.i.) Mr Sunil Narula, who also attended the event, read the Secretary General’s message for the World Day to Combat Desertification. The message in particularly stressed the need for “adequate and predictable financing to support improved land management, more efficient water use and sustainable agriculture”,...