Daw Than Htay, a beneficiary of the Livelihoods and Food Security Trust Fund's (LIFT) microfinance programme. Photo: LIFT/Ne Lynn Aung

Although these objectives are supported across all environments, for the sake of clarity, Goal Three will focus on projects in locations that have not been recently affected by a conflict or natural disaster.

By managing infrastructure and procurement projects, as well as providing logistical, financial and administrative services we help our partners drive development in the health, justice and rural development sectors, among others. In 2011, 49 percent of UNOPS work supported people's ability to develop local economies and obtain social services.

Sustainable infrastructure

UNOPS has been helping to build avian flu isolation rooms in partnership with WHO and funded by the European Union. Photo: UNOPS/Fauzan Adhitia

In support of its partners, UNOPS constructs or renovates hospitals and health clinics. For example, UNOPS built isolation rooms in Indonesia to help combat the spread of avian influenza. The project was implemented on behalf of the World Health Organization and the European Union.

We have also constructed laboratories, 50 of which were in Zimbabwe for the Global Fund in 2011, on behalf of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

UNOPS also supports the building or rehabilitation of courthouses and prisons.

Sustainable procurement

In 2011, UNOPS procured millions of health products for its partners, such as the Global Fund in Myanmar. Photo: Global Fund

In 2011, UNOPS managed the procurement of millions of doses of essential medicines, most of which were procured on behalf of the Government of Argentina. Non-pharmaceutical medical supplies were also handled by UNOPS-supported projects, such as the multi-donor Three Diseases Fund in Myanmar.

In addition to implementing international standards in prison design, UNOPS helps partners improve conditions, such as by procuring vocational training equipment for inmates in Uruguay. This project was part of the ‘delivering as one’ initiative, in partnership with UNDP, UN Women, the International Labour Organization and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

Sustainable project management

Our team helps partners to develop awareness-raising initiatives, many of which are health-related. For example, the UNOPS-hosted Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council works to increase access to basic sanitation for the 2.6 billion people who lack it worldwide.

UNOPS also provides implementation support to projects developing national capacity, for example by supporting the training of 8,000 child health workers in India as part of the Norway-India Partnership Initiative (NIPI), which seeks to reduce child and maternal mortality rates. UNOPS is the local fund agent for NIPI.

Rural development

Numerous rural development initiatives are supported by UNOPS, from planting over 100,000 trees in Peru for the Government, to installing more than 200 energy sources in sub-Saharan Africa. The latter, conducted on behalf of UNDP and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, provided power to rural villages which helped to establish sustainable agro-enterprises run by women.

UNOPS also provides financial management services to hundreds of grants. In 2011, we issued 134 grants to communities in Cameroon, on behalf of UNDP, to fund micro-projects designed to help lift AIDS-affected families out of poverty.

In addition, UNOPS is the fund manager for the Livelihoods and Food Security Trust Fund in Myanmar, which supports agricultural production, strengthens market strategies and creates non-agricultural employment opportunities. The programme addresses the underlying causes of food insecurity and poverty in nearly all of the most regions in the country.

Supporting democratic processes

UNOPS has supported EU electoral observation missions in Nicaragua and Peru, aimed at ensuring transparency in the democratic process.

International cooperation

Alongside operational support to projects in the field, UNOPS organizes conferences and events, and provides general administrative services to high-level initiatives, such as Global Pulse – the UN Secretary-General’s initiative to use digital data and analytics to gain a real-time understanding of global changes in human well-being.

We also provide services on behalf of UNDP to improve South-South cooperation, such as strengthening the capacity of the Group of 77, or strategic planning for the Africa-Asia Development University Network.