Summary: The core mission of the United Nations Development Program is to help countries achieve sustainable human development. The program, which is the central financing and coordinating mechanism for development assistance within the U.N. system, provides advisory services, training, and equipment across various sectors, including agriculture and international trade, to developing nations. In 1990, GAO reported on several program weaknesses. (See GAO/NSIAD-90-64.) This report analyzes (1) actions taken in response to recommendations made in the 1990 report to improve coordination, project evaluation, and the allocation of resources; (2) the amounts and the sources of program budget support; (3) the cost of administering the program's headquarters and overseas operations and the extent to which the program has reduced these expenses; (4) the system of audit and internal controls that the program uses to oversee its operations; (5) the criteria that the program uses to graduate recipient countries from assistance; and (6) the extent to which program projects coincide with U.S. national security and foreign policy objectives.
