Papua New Guinea

Through the Millennium Development Goals the world is addressing the many dimensions of human development, including halving by 2015 the proportion of people living in extreme poverty. Developing countries are working to create their own national poverty eradication strategies based on local needs and priorities.

UNDP advocates for these nationally-owned solutions and helps to make them effective through ensuring a greater voice for poor people, expanding access to productive assets and economic opportunities, and linking poverty programmes with countries' international economic and financial policies. At the same time, UNDP contributes to efforts at reforming trade, debt relief and investment arrangements to better support national poverty reduction and make globalisation work for poor people. In doing so, we sponsor innovative pilot projects; connect countries to global best practices and resources; promote the role of women in development; and bring governments, civil society and outside funders together to coordinate their efforts.

UNDP promotes the concept of human poverty as a complement to income poverty, emphasizing that equity, social inclusion, women's empowerment, and respect for human rights matter for poverty reduction.

Crisis Prevention & Recovery in Papua New Guinea: Nation Building

Papua New Guinea’s progress towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals has been slow. Uneven economic growth and distribution of wealth, a high incidence of violence, especially against women, deteriorating law and order situation, poor governance and diminishing public services have combined to undermine the nation’s stability. Social cohesion in some provinces has deteriorated to the point that they have descended into civil war (Bougainville) or are on the verge thereof (Southern Highlands), leading to social disillusionment and marginalization in the community. The worst affected have often been women and youth.

The Government of Papua New guinea is looking for ways forward to unite a nation of over 850 ethnic groups and to make the citizens understand their societal roles, their rights and responsibilities, both within their own communities and the nation as a whole, including the importance of peace and reconciliation, human development and the creation of sustainable livelihoods to achieve this. Approaching crisis prevention and recovery (CPR) issues through a positive theme of nation building is considered a more effective approach to mobilise civil society participation and to minimise existing tensions between different groups.

UNDP Papua New Guinea is supporting Nation Building through a Preparatory Assistance (PA) project that will assist the Government of Papua New Guinea to: