At the behest of the Government of Pakistan the United Nations supports national development efforts and responds to emergencies and crises as and when required.

The UN system in Pakistan assists the Government through the UN Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF), a plan that outlines the activities and modalities of the UN’s support in the achievement of development goals prioritized by the Government and in line with international norms and conventions, especially the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The current UNDAF has been extended to 2012 to allow the piloting of the UN Reform. The work of the UN has been reorganized in five thematic areas with four cross cutting issues under joint programmes enveloped in the One Program Document. This re-organization allows the UN to combine its strengths for greater efficiency and efficacy.

The five thematic areas are agriculture, rural development & poverty reduction, disaster risk management, education, environment, and health & population with gender, civil society, refugees and human rights as cross cutting areas.

Since October 2005, the country has been challenged with one crisis after another, be it natural or manmade. At the request of the Government and in line with its mandate, the UN works day and night to provide assistance in relief, recovery and rehabilitation to affected populations. The cluster approach that the UN adopted in Pakistan to respond to the crises is a global best practice and has garnered international acclaim for the country.

The most unique quality that the UN has is its impartiality and multidimensional approach that allows for support and assistance in all required development and humanitarian areas. The UN plays its role as advisor, advocator, convener and service deliverer in all sectors at the request of the Government of Pakistan.