30 March 2012: In her address to the UN Development Programme (UNDP) Arab States Regional Meeting of Resident Representatives in Rabat, Morocco, UNDP Administrator Helen Clark highlighted that, despite achievements and progress made on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), a lot of work still remains to be done before 2015, including reduction of extreme and absolute poverty, food insecurity and poor nutrition.

Clark urged all UN agencies to increase support across the economic, social and environmental pillars of sustainable development in the run up to the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20). She stressed the need for integrated policy-making that aims to support “triple win” policies, such as sustainable energy policies, which can help reduce poverty, reduce the burden on women and children, and have a local impact on the environment.

Clark noted the vulnerability of the Arab region to environmental challenges, such as desertification, water scarcity, biodiversity loss and coastal erosion, and underlined that well co-ordinated UN Country Teams can bring considerable knowledge to addressing these development challenges, through adaptation and mitigation. [UNDP News Release]