This site is not updated. Themselves Fact Sheet released by the Bureau of International Organization Affairs, August 11, 1997. Through numerous United Nations programs, the international community joins forces to spur economic progress in the developing world. These programs are geared to giving poor nations the tools they need to help themselves, and in so doing they serve important American interests by fostering political stability, reducing the need for emergency aid, and building markets for American products. In terms of American economic well-being, there is a compelling case for our country to do its part to support cooperative international development efforts.
Countries moving up the development ladder make better trading partners.
It is also the UN's principal agency focused on poverty eradication, job creation, good governance, and environmental management in developing nations and countries in transition to democracy and market systems. The organization, headquartered in New York, makes extensive use of U.S. goods and services, every year spending far more money in the U.S. than the U.S. contributes to the UNDP budget. UNDP has supported the training of Vietnamese officials and enterprise managers in the basics of applied economics, one of the skills most needed to help the country shift from communism to a market economy. UNDP is implementing a large-scale program that helps Central American countries recover from years of armed conflict. Nicaragua UNDP is supporting the rebuilding of rural roads, water systems, schools, and clinics.