When all parts the UN work together to provide a well coordinated, focused, and coherent response to a country’s developmental priorities, the impact it can have is much greater than when UN agencies work alone.

No single agency has the range of funds, skills, knowledge, and experience to tackle the multi-dimensional challenges of a sustainable development. Working together, the UN family can provide advice and assistance in a wide range of issues, and can ensure that the support provided by each agency is complementary, rather than duplicative.

It is our firm belief that by working together in Lesotho, the UN will be able to enhance its effectiveness and efficiency and that it will be able to better assist the country in achieving its developmental objectives, including the Millennium Development Goals.

 

The Delivering as One initiative

Based on the belief that the UN has a vital role to play in countries’ development, UN country teams all over the world are changing their way they work to better meet the challenges that lie ahead.

In 2007, the United Nations launched the “Delivering as One” pilot initiative, which builds on recommendations from the High Level Panel on System Wide Coherence. Eight pilot countries agreed to work with the UN system to capitalize on the strengths and comparative advantages of the different members of the UN family. These eight countries are Albania, Cape Verde, Mozambique, Pakistan, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uruguay, and Viet Nam.

Together they are experimenting with ways to increase the UN system’s impact through more coherent programmes, reduced transaction costs for governments, and lower overhead costs for the UN system.
The Delivering as One initiative is always a three-party undertaking by the Governments, the UN Country Team and the donor community.

 

Delivering as One in Lesotho

Since the Delivering as One was initiated in 2007, more than the initial eight pilot countries and UN country teams around the world have embarked on the effort to deliver as one.

In Lesotho, the Government, the UN family, and the donor community, recognize that the challenges the country faces and the support the UN can offer will lead to better results if all parts of the UN work more closely together. This will ultimately also increase the Government’s ability to deliver services to the people of Lesotho.

In late 2008, the UN Country Team agreed to become a “self-starter” and start working together on the Five Ones.

A Delivering as One Concept Note was written and finalized in May 2009. The Concept Note forms the first formal guiding document and outlines the challenges, opportunities, scope and a way forward on the initiative in Lesotho. In December 2009, the country team made an Executive Summary of the Delivering as One on its progress so far and plans for the future.

 

The Five Ones

The “Five Ones” are central to the Delivering as One initiative, and progress in each of these areas illustrates how UN organizations in Lesotho are increasingly working together, collaborating and finding synergies. The five ones are One Programme, One Budget, One Leader, One Office and One Voice.