Port Moresby, PNG – New Zealand, through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT), concluded on 14 February 2011 a Standard Administrative Arrangement with the UN, agreeing to channel all its financial support to the United Nations in Papua New Guinea through the PNG UN Country Fund, administered by the UNDP MDTF Office.

Port Moresby, PNG – New Zealand, through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT), concluded on 14 February 2011 a Standard Administrative Arrangement with the UN, agreeing to channel all its financial support to the United Nations in Papua New Guinea through the PNG UN Country Fund, administered by the UNDP MDTF Office.

Through the Arrangement, New Zealand agrees to provide NZ$ 2,500,000 in 2011 for programmes in the areas of gender-based violence and health.

In addition to New Zealand, commitments to the PNG UN Country Fund have also been received from AusAID, Population Services International, Colgate-Palmolive PNG Ltd, BeMobile and the Expanded DaO Funding Window (a global facility in support of Delivering as One funded by The Netherlands, Norway, Spain and the United Kingdom/DFID).

According to the UN Resident Coordinator David McLachlan-Karr, “the partnership forms a critical milestone in the broader UN Reform process, which will further reinforce the impact of UN programmes at country level, while reducing costs to deliver these programmes”.

Chief of the UN Resident Coordination Unit, Lars Tushuizen, added: “since the PNG UN Country Fund came into operation in 2009, the UN system in the country has significantly reduced its costs”.

New Zealand High Commissioner, Marion Crawshaw reiterated that “New Zealand is a strong supporter of the One UN approach” and added that her country is keen to continue to provide support, in particular in the area of maternal health.

Mr. McLachlan-Karr further stressed that there is a need for more emphasis in improving health systems and services to rural areas to reduce the high maternal mortality rate.

PNG is a signatory to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). MDG 5 is on maternal health and the promise by signatories of MDGs is to reduce maternal mortality by two-thirds between 1990 and 2015.

In order to enhance its support to the government of Papua New Guinea to achieve the MDGs, the UN in PNG is undergoing a significant change process and is re-aligning its 5-year country strategy with the national development priorities of the Government of PNG, as reflected in the recently launched Medium-Term Development Plan 2011-2015.

New Zealand’s contribution marks an important milestone for the UN Country Team in PNG: 60% of the UN’s resources in the country are now being channelled through the PNG UN Country Fund.

Additional information on the PNG UN Country Fund is available on the MDTF Office GATEWAY’s PNG UN Country Fund Factsheet.