• What is UNDP?
• How long has UNDP been in the country and what is UNDP’s role in Iran?
• What does UNDP do in Iran in its areas of mandate?
• What are UNDP’s key achievements in Iran?
• How are UNDP staff selected?
• When and how did UNDP come into being?
• How do I learn more about the organization?
• Does UNDP have an annual report, or a document describing activities and financial aspects?
• What is the Human Development Report?
• Is there a Human Development Report for Iran?
• What is the policy regarding the reproduction of materials found on the Web site?
• I am looking for a former/present staff member. Could you give me his/her phone number or e-mail address?
• I want to make a tax deductible donation to the UNDP. To whom do I make the check and to what address do I send the contribution?
• Where is UNDP-Iran office located?
• Where is UNDP HQ located?
• How do I apply for a job with UNDP?
• How can I check on the status of a job application?
• Does UNDP offer scholarships to students enrolled in graduate degrees?
• How do I apply for an internship with UNDP?

What is UNDP?

UNDP is the UN's global development network, advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life.

We are on the ground in 166 countries, working with them on their own solutions to global and national development challenges. As they develop local capacity, they draw on the people of UNDP and our wide range of partners.

World leaders have pledged to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, including the overarching goal of cutting poverty in half by 2015. UNDP's network links and coordinates global and national efforts to reach these Goals. Our focus is helping countries build and share solutions to the challenges of:

• Democratic Governance
• Poverty Reduction
• Crisis Prevention and Recovery
• Energy and Environment
• HIV/AIDS

UNDP helps countries attract and use aid effectively. In all our activities, we promote the protection of human rights and the empowerment of women.

Please visit: Who We Are for more detailed information about UNDP in Iran.

(back to top)

How long has UNDP been in the country and what is UNDP’s role in Iran?

UNDP has had a representative office in Iran since 1966. UNDP has worked closely with the government and other development partners, such as local councils, civil society, academic institutions and the private sector, by providing technical assistance and knowledge for more than 40 years. During this time many UNDP-funded projects have been successfully implemented throughout the country in areas as diverse as governance, human rights, poverty reduction, disaster mitigation and recovery, conservation of the environment and wildlife and rural development.

The Islamic Republic of Iran is a transition economy. It is one of the largest countries in Asia and the Pacific and has vast natural resources and an educated population. Iran has made rapid progress in several spheres of development and today ranks 88 among 173 countries on the Human Development Index (HDI) [UNDP Human Development Report, 2011], which measures progress on three development indices – education, life expectancy and income.

While Iran’s extensive economic growth in recent years has led to better living standards, the continuous disparity between the rich and the poor presents a challenge which requires a more equitable and sustainable socio-economic development that includes the most marginalized groups of society, consisting of youth and women. In an effort to strengthen national capacities to face these challenges, UNDP Iran is working together with the Government of Iran in the following programme areas:

• Poverty Reduction
• Health (in terms of proviidng support to implementation of GFATM grants)
• Environmentally Sustainable Management
• Disaster Risk Reduction and Management

At the country level, UNDP also plays a coordination role within the UN System to ensure synergy between the work of the various UN Agencies. There are 18 UN agencies working in Iran. Globally UNDP also has the mandate to coordinate the work of the UN in partner countries. In order to focus their efforts, the UN agencies jointly agree on a UN Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF). The 2012 - 2016 UNDAF for I.R. Iran identified several development challenges that the country is facing:  poverty reduction, health, environmentally sustianable management, disaster risk reduction and management, and drugs prevention and control.

(back to top)

What does UNDP do in Iran in its areas of mandate?

The 2012-2016 country programme was prepared jointly with the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran and derives from the 5th Five-Year National Development Plan, the agreed outcome areas of the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) 2012-2016 and key priorities of the UNDP Strategic Plan. As a middle-income country, Iran is well placed to play a leading role in applying the South-South cooperation modalities through exchange of knowledge and technical expertise, research and application of science and technology and training, both globally and within its region. UNDP will therefore build on its global network of knowledge and best practices to promote knowledge-sharing and South-South cooperation with Iran. The new country programme will focus on four main areas: (a) poverty reduction; (b) health in terms of support to GFATM implementation; (c) environmentally sustainable development; and (d) natural disaster management.

Poverty reduction: UNDP will contribute to initiatives that will: (a) support the development of macro-planning models, monitoring and evaluation systems and coordination mechanisms to ensure high-quality job- rich “inclusive growth” patterns; and (b) improve national and subnational institutional capacity for formulating socio-economic policies and social protection models. The achievement of MDGs 3, 6 and 7 will have a direct impact on poverty, so that part of the focus will be on the most at-risk groups, including women, youth and those suffering from HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. Poverty reduction initiatives will be linked with environment projects to reach out to the rural and urban poor, supporting their income generation with sustainable livelihoods. At end of the programme cycle, UNDP will help the country’s efforts in further advancing an inclusive growth planning and management framework and model for the national development planning system -- which will contribute to a fully integrated, outcome-based development of national planning capacity.

Environment: The country programme will focus on contributing to national capacities for integrated management, conservation, and sustainable use of ecosystems and biodiversity; and for a representative network of “protected areas” to be further strengthened. Climate change mitigation and adaptation capacities will also be targeted at the national and subnational levels, to contribute to the adoption of a climate resilient development path that is aligned with an “inclusive growth” development model. National capacities will be further supported to strengthen mechanisms for assessing and monitoring environmental impacts and trends, including those that signify the relationship between environmental degradation and poverty. UNDP will cooperate with Iran to access global funding mechanisms under the Multilateral Environment Agreements. By 2015, it is envisaged that Iran will have reduced the consumption of hydrochlorofluorocarbons by 10 per cent in accordance with the Montreal Protocol targets.

Natural disaster management: UNDP will continue its support to the Government for the integration of disaster management and risk reduction into development policies, key sector plans and programmes; strengthening knowledge and understanding of disaster risks, strengthening community-based disaster management and risk reduction, and developing regional and international cooperation for the exchange of knowledge and expertise.

Health in terms of support to GFATM implementation: In close partnership with the country coordination mechanism, as a principal recipient, UNDP will contribute to the reduction of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria through its support to the Government to implement grants from the GFATM and achieve the national AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis objectives.

(back to top)

What are UNDP’s key achievements in Iran?

Poverty reduction initiatives under the past cycle included the adoption of MDG indicators and targets in the Government’s planning documents and the piloting of community participation and microcredit best practices for further scaling-up. A key result was the adoption of the HDI as a national indicator and integrated natural resource management practices at the sector level.

The evaluations in the aera of Environment have also highlighted UNDP contributions to national institutions, developing a participatory rangeland rehabilitation model, a microcredit system with alternative jobs for the rural poor, targeting men and women. As a result of a successful pilot, early in 2011, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the allocation of sizeable national funding to replicate the model. Drawing upon the Government-UNDP joint initiatives, the 5th National Development Plan has adopted the environmental assessment of strategic-level policies and plans as well as a country-wide “ecosystem-based approach” to the management of wetland ecosystems and biodiversity. The 2008 terminal evaluation of the first phase of the Conservation of the Asiatic Cheetah project confirmed that Iran has been successful in saving from extinction this iconic species and provided a platform for the upgrading of protected areas in 7 out of a total of 10 cheetah habitats.The 2008 Montreal Protocol evaluation also highlighted Iran’s contribution to the global efforts to safeguard the ozone layer. Iran is an early achiever of the phase-out milestones set by the Montreal Protocol. National strategies under the Climate Change and Stockholm Conventions have been developed with UNDP cooperation.

The early findings of the 2011 project evaluation on disaster risk management, undertaken jointly by the Government and UNDP, confirmed the role of the project in raising awareness among policymakers, resulting in leveraging additional Government funding. Two pilots implemented in the cities of Kerman and Gorgan on safe schools, neighborhoods and hospitals, are now consolidating results for nationwide replication. In close collaboration with the Strategic, Planning and Control Organization of the Government, disaster risk management was integrated nationwide. The programme also developed decision-making support tools -- a National Information Portal and a National Disaster Database.

As principal recipient, UNDP played a critical role in supporting Government access to the GFATM grants for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, as well as working with national partners so that, in line with advancing national priorities, it ensured that systems are in place to respond to performance-based management and quality monitoring and evaluation. Since 2005, UNDP has contributed to delivering over $45 million and has accelerated the national response to HIV/AIDS. It has stabilized the prevalence rate among the injecting drug users, which is still the main source of transmission of HIV/AIDS in the country and slowed down the HIV/AIDS rate among prisoners. The malaria and tuberculosis programmes target provinces with the highest burden of these diseases. The contributions of the malaria programme have helped to introduce revised policy in the country to complete malaria eradication by early 2017. The tuberculosis programme has increased the treatment success rate from 82 per cent to 87 per cent after two years of programme implementation.

(back to top)

How are UNDP staff selected?

UNDP Country Office staff is selected through a competitive process. Jobs are advertised on the UNDP website www.undp.org.ir .The recruitment process for Country Office staff is independent and follows UNDP corporate requirements on hiring.  In hiring project staff, the National Project Managers and National Project Directors are consulted, as these experts work under their supervision and are based in their offices. There are no secondees from government in the UNDP-Iran office. Our team includes two internationals (the Resident Representative and Deputy Resident Representative) and about 40 nationals.

(back to top)

When and how did UNDP come into being?

UNDP is based on the merging of the United Nations Expanded Programme of Technical Assistance, created in 1949, and the United Nations Special Fund, established in 1958. UNDP, as we know it now, was established in 1965 by the General Assembly of the United Nations. A comprehensive book on the history of UNDP was published in 2006 and can be purchased at the UN Bookshop or directly from the publisher.

(back to top)

How do I learn more about the organization?

Click here to learn more about who we are and what we do.

(back to top)

Does UNDP have an annual report, or a document describing activities and financial aspects?

UNDP Annual Reports summarize UNDP’s main activities, showcase success stories from the ground and contain information on where our money comes from and how we spend it. The website of UNDP’s main governing body, the Executive Board, contains major policy, financial, budgetary and administrative-related documents.

The UNDP annual report and major policy documents may be found here.

(back to top)

What is the Human Development Report?

The widely-cited UNDP Human Development Reports (HDRs) contain substantive data on most development indicators. The reports rank every country each year in areas such as per capita income, literacy, life expectancy and respect for women's rights. The goal is to put people back at the centre of the development process. The HDR website is http://hdr.undp.org.

In addition, UNDP has helped more than 120 developing countries produce their own National Human Development Reports, which provide a basis for informed local debate about priorities and policies. These reports also help donor governments to measure the impact of their aid dollars, and to communicate the way in which aid is making a positive difference both to direct beneficiaries and to electorates at home.

For copyright requests, please click here.

(back to top)

Is there a Human Development Report for Iran?

Yes, Iran's first National Human Development Report (NHDR) was published in 1999 by Iran's State Management & Planning Organization with support from UNDP.

(back to top)

What is the policy regarding the reproduction of materials found on the Web site?

All materials found on UNDP websites are copyrighted to UNDP.

For non-profit organizations, materials found on the website or any UNDP publications (or parts thereof) may be freely reproduced, as long as due credit is given to the source.

For commercial usage or sales publications, please specify which publication (title, year, page/s) or part of the website will be reproduced (URL of webpage), and send your request to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

For further details regarding the reproduction of UNDP materials found on the website click here.

For copyrights permissions concerning Human Development Reports (HDRs): UNDP owns the copyright to all materials in the HDRs but the publishers manage them for UNDP. For further advice please contact the Outreach and Advocacy Unit of the HDR Office.

(back to top)

I am looking for a former/present staff member. Could you give me his/her phone number or e-mail address?

The contact details of key focal points for programme and operations matters in our office are available at: Contact Us However, if you are looking for contact information of staff members for personal purposes, please note that we are not authorized to provide e-mail addresses of former or present staff members. You may direct your query to any of the units or departments in UNDP-Iran office at this address:

Human Resources Unit: extensions 302-303

United Nations Development Programme
8 Shahrzad Blvd, Darrous, 1948773911
Tehran- I.R. IRAN
P.O. Box 15875-4557
Tel: (9821) 228 60691-4 or 228 60925-8
Fax: (9821) 228 6 9547
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

(back to top)

I want to make a tax deductible donation to the UNDP. To whom do I make the check and to what address do I send the contribution?

Contributions should go to the US Committee for UNDP. The Committee has 501(c)3 status and has supported UNDP’s work in Angola, the Dominican Republic, Georgia, Pakistan and Somalia.

(back to top)

Where is UNDP-Iran office located?

United Nations Development Programme
8 Shahrzad Blvd, Darrous, 1948773911
Tehran- Islamic Republic of Iran
P.O. Box 15875-4557
Tel: (9821) 228 60691-4 or 228 60925-8
Fax: (9821) 228 6 9547

(back to top)

Where is UNDP HQ located?

One United Nations Plaza
New York, NY 10017, USA
Tel: (212) 906-5000
Fax: (212) 906-5364

UNDP has its headquarters in New York City, but works primarily through its offices in more than 140 countries. Most of these offices have Web sites.

(back to top)

How do I apply for a job with UNDP?

Please refer to Job Opportunities for descriptions for current vacancies and online application forms.

(back to top)

How can I check on the status of a job application?

You may e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or you may contact:
Human Resources Unit (extensions 302-303)
United Nations Development Programme
8 Shahrzad Blvd, Darrous, 1948773911
Tehran- Islamic Republic of Iran
P.O. Box 15875-4557
Tel: (9821) 228 60691-4 or 228 60925-8
Fax: (9821) 228 6 9547

(back to top)

Does UNDP offer scholarships to students enrolled in graduate degrees?

No. Unfortunately, our mandate does not permit us to provide such financial assistance.

(back to top)

How do I apply for an internship with UNDP?

For information on Internships at UNDP, please visit our website at: work with us

(back to top)