European Commission, UN Development Group and World Bank agree on common ways to assess post-crisis situations and plan recovery

UNITED NATIONS, September 25 – The European Commission, the United Nations Development Group and the World Bank today issued a joint declaration on how they will assess and support post-crisis situations and plan recovery efforts.

European Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner, UN Development Group Chair and UN Development Programme Administrator Kemal Dervis, and World Bank Vice President for Operations Policy and Country Services, Jeffrey Gutman signed the agreement, which will help the organizations plan and work together more effectively in countries recovering from conflict or natural disasters.

“We believe a common platform for partnership and action is central to the delivery of an effective and sustainable international response after disaster- and conflict-related crises,” the institutions said in the joint declaration. “We are engaged in significant work to reform the processes used by national and international partners to assess, plan, and mobilize support for recovery to countries and populations affected by natural disasters or violent conflicts.”

The purpose of the agreement is to harmonise and coordinate the collective assistance the institutions provide to countries. It calls on their staff to plan together and develop common tools, training and evaluation mechanisms. All donors and partners are invited to join this effort; enlarging the partnership can only contribute positively to speedy and coherent operational recovery responses around the world.

By working together, the institutions believe they can do more to help countries increase their resilience in the face of crises, help people recover from conflict and crisis situations, and strengthen national institutions’ capacity for prevention, response and recovery.

Left to Right: World Bank Vice President for Operations Policy and Country Services Jeffrey Gutman, UN Development Group Chair Kemal Dervis and European Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner shake hands after signing the Joint Declaration. (Maureen Lynch/UNDP)

For more information, please contact: Michael Kovrig, Strategic Communications Specialist UN Development Operations Coordination Office Tel: 212-906-5053 michael.kovrig@undg.org