MUZAFFARABAD, July 28: A day-long workshop was held here on Tuesday to review the process for integrated district level planning and monitoring of programmes executed by different UN agencies in the district of Muzaffarabad.

Officials from different government departments and other participants were told that the simplification and harmonization process was driven by the ongoing UN reforms that envisaged better coordination amongst the UN agencies and counterparts as well as improved organizational effectiveness, efficiency and impact in the target areas.

Across the country, there are 15 districts, Quetta, Khuzdar, Pishin, Gawadar, Chagai, Killa Abdullah, Killa Saifullah (in Balochistan), Mardan, Kohat, Peshawar (in NWFP), Muzaffarabad (in AJK), Muzaffargarh (in Punjab), Khairpur, Thatta and Karachi (in Sindh) where multiple UN agencies are working in different fields.

These districts, the participants were told, had been chosen as target districts for joint annual work plan (JAWP) to be implemented in close coordination and cooperation with all UN agencies and partners.

In each district one of the agencies would coordinate the activities and act as lead or convening agency. Muzaffarabad, the workshop was told, was the first district where this process was being implemented in this form and WFP (World Food Programme) had been chosen the convening agency for this district.

The JAWP period for WHO and WFP in district Muzaffarabad was 2004-2005 and for the UNICEF and UNFPA it was June-Dec 2004. The workshop was further told that four basic common programme areas (CPA) in Muzaffarabad included education (197 girls primary schools), community-based programmes (78), health facilities (36) and population development (2) and for each CPA quarterly review meetings and joint field visits would be held and quarterly reports would be circulated to all partners.

Those who spoke at the workshop included UN resident coordinator Onder Yucer, WHO representative Dr Khalif Bille, WFP representative German Valdivia, AJK secretary finance Javed Mallick, additional secretary education Dr Shahla Waqar.