A community-level initiative launched recently
aims to help alleviate poverty in one of Iran's poorest provinces.
The social mobilization and micro-credit
project -- a new partnership between UNDP and the Government of Iran --
will help communities in the province of Sistan and Baluchestan establish
community organizations, provide organizational and vocational training,
and introduce savings and small loans schemes.
"The intent here is to balance centralized policies with regional solutions," said UNDP Resident Representative Francesco M. Bastagli during the signing ceremony. "The project," he added, "will contribute to an ongoing programme aimed at the long-term economic development of the province, jointly supported by nine different UN agencies."
Villagers will learn how to conduct regular meetings, identify their development problems and propose solutions in a participatory manner, with the use of external resources. Technical training courses will enhance the villagers' capabilities in fields such as planning small income-generating activities and protecting the environment. The management-training courses will also create a small pool of trainers and activists.
The project will encourage communities to pursue development objectives rather than depend on charity and handouts. It will also build replicable models for community development via social mobilization and micro-credit.
The province of Sistan and Baluchestan, in southeastern Iran, on the borders with Pakistan and Afghanistan, suffers from the highest level of poverty in the country. Its development problems have been exacerbated by persistent drought in the last few years.
The three-year US$ 125,000 project will be directed by the Social Security Bureau of the Management and Planning Organization, a major UNDP counterpart in Iran. The Family and Sustainable Development Fund, a non-governmental organization, will implement the project in the two pilot sites of Bent and Shirabad. The project will develop best practices to be followed elsewhere in the province and throughout the country.
The new project is a component of a UN inter-agency initiative in the province to improve health, education and sanitation and to empower local communities and to create jobs. In addition to UNDP, the other agencies involved are UNICEF, UNFPA, UNHCR, WHO, WFP, UNIDO, FAO and UNCDP.
For further information, please contact Babak Pirouz, UNDP Iran and Omar Gharzeddine, UNDP's Communications Office.