Eng - UNDP in Tajikistan

DEVELOPMENT PARTNER PROFILE
Bilateral
Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida)
Contact: Ms. Eva Lithman
Councellor Embassy of Sweden in Dushanbe
Tel: 701-14-11/12 Fax:
E-mail: sida@sida.tj
Website: www.sida.se
Organization Profile
Swedish development cooperation aims at contributing to an environment supportive of poor people's own efforts to improve their lives.
Development cooperation shall be seen as an integral part of Sweden's policy for global development contributing to equitable and sustainable
development. Two perspectives shall permeate all parts of the policy including development cooperation; a rights perspective based on
international human rights conventions and the perspective of the poor people.
The Swedish government decided in August 2007 that Sweden was going to phase out its long-term development cooperation in Central Asia.
The rationale behind this decision was to make more effective use of Swedish aid by focusing on fewer countries. However, despite such a
decision Sida will remain active in Tajikistan during the phasing out period 2008-2010 and will honor all agreements. For the responsible
phase out period 2008-2010 Sida has developed a new strategy. The aim of the development cooperation with Tajikistan during the phase out
is to contribute to expand the opportunities of Tajik citizens to influence the development of their communities, to improve livelihood
opportunities and to improve access to health and social protection for poor men, women, boys and girls. Swedish support under this strategy
will be directed at three sectors: democratic governance, economic development and health. These priorities are based on a poverty reduction
and rights
perspective and are in line with the overall aims and objectives of Swedish development cooperation and of Tajikistan’s current NDS and
PRSP.
Within these sectors, the emphasis is to be on large-scale sector-based initiatives in collaboration with other donors. Projects and programme
funded by Sida are primarily implemented by international organizations, international NGO's and consulting companies. All Swedish support
to Tajikistan is in the form of grants.
Past and Current Programmes
Sweden has provided assistance to Tajikistan for the period 1997-2007 amounting to approximately USD 37 mln. Following the adoption by
the Swedish Government of the first strategy for cooperation with Tajikistan, the development of a longer-term development programme
started in mid-2003. The main areas of the current Swedish cooperation programme with Tajikistan are income generation/agriculture, local
governance and the health sector
Future Programming Direction
In view of the phasing out strategy, Sida is not going to enter any new cooperation agreements. Nevertheless, the phasing out strategy will
provide for continued support to the agreed upon projects for the period of 2008-2010 with priority sectors being democratic governance,
economic development, and health.
Examples of projects/programmes:
A. Democratic governance: Sweden is supporting both methodically and financially the development of the new Tajik PRS monitoring
framework. Likewise, support to capacity development at both local and central level and support to strengthening respect for human rights
will be continued.
B. Economic development: Continued support to the strategically important land reform programme in collaboration with other donors is
underway, with a view to promoting a transparent and equitable process. Support for the diversification of farming and further processing
aimed at boosting both the employment rate and income in the short and long term will be continued during the phasing out strategy period.
C. Health: Support will be provided for the development of a Primary health Care in the framework of the ongoing Health reform in
collaboration with the World Bank. Support to promotion of the development and preparation of the Sector Wide Approach will be a priority
during the phasing out.
Other areas: Besides the three sectors outlined above, co-financing may be considered in relation to major emergency projects, but only as
part of internationally coordinated arrangements.
Source: Aid Coordination and Project Monitoring System Database
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