UNDP supports joint UN initiative against poverty in Iran

UNDP announced on Tuesday that it was joining other UN agencies and Iran in supporting a two-year initiative to overcome poverty in the south east province of Sistan-Baluchestan, the country’s poorest. “This project is a joint UN effort to alleviate the effects of poverty in the Iranian province with the lowest human development index,” UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative Francesco Bastagli told IRIN on Wednesday. The pilot project, involving local authorities and civil society as partners in the initiative, will promote cooperation between UN and the Government in an effort to to create replicable models for improved access to health services, education, drinking water, sanitation and support for micro-enterprises, credit, jobs and opportunities for better livelihoods. The announcement came after a UN two-day consultative workshop last week hosted by the Governate-General of Sistan-Baluchestan in the provincial capital of Zahedan, introducing the project to local officials. “In developing income generating ventures such as a women’s collective, we will work closely with local authorities, community leaders and beneficiaries. This is an innovative alternative approach to involve all major players in the development process,” Bastagli said. According to Iran’s National Human Development Report in 1999, Sistan-Baluchestan had the lowest human development indicators of all Iranian provinces. It added, Sistan-Baluchestan’s Human Poverty Index was three times as great as Tehran province. The report went on to say that these disparities correlated with differences in gross expenditure per capita and suggested that the gaps could be significantly reduced by promoting economic growth in poor provinces and more equitable distribution of economic resources. UNDP sources in Tehran told IRIN the estimated budget for the project was US $350,000 which includes inputs from various UN agencies. An initial seed fund of US $70,000 is being utilised to initiate integrated activities among the UN agencies and the government for the pilot initiative.