VZCZCXYZ0017
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHCO #0294/01 1410433
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 200433Z MAY 08
FM AMEMBASSY COTONOU
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0329

UNCLAS COTONOU 000294 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR IO/EDA MOLLY KRESS AND AF/W DANA BANKS 
PLEASE PASS TO USAID/GH DALE GIBB AND JANET PHILLPS STATE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID UNICEF UN BN
SUBJECT: BENIN FEEDBACK ON UNICEF PROGRAMS 
 
REF: STATE 044066 
 
¶1.  Summary:  Post welcomes the opportunity to provide comments on 
UNICEF, a valued partner in development.  The UNICEF program in 
Benin is effective and coordinates closely with the USG, the 
Government of Benin (GOB), and international donors. 
 
¶2.  UNICEF Program in Benin:  Overall, the UNICEF country program 
document presents an accurate assessment of the health and education 
status (the two areas of USAID focus) in Benin. The interventions 
identified to improve maternal and child health status support the 
strategic orientations and priorities provided by the government of 
Benin.  The country program document specifically identifies the 
decline in the immunization coverage as an issue and plans to 
support improvement of the immunization system during the 2009-2013 
time period. Other interventions or practices such as exclusive 
breastfeeding, hand washing, use of insecticide treated nets, oral 
rehydration therapy and health-seeking behavior planned to be 
pursued are sound and fit in the strategies recommended by the 
Ministry of Health and supported by the WHO and other donors 
including USAID. 
 
¶3.  The proposed basic education program addresses some of the major 
factors impacting on school enrolment, retention and completion 
rates, in particular the weak internal efficiency of the education 
system, the physical and pedagogical environment, and inadequate 
preliminary and in-service training of teachers and supervisors. 
UNICEF activities to promote girls' education and in-service teacher 
training for community teachers support the priorities and 
objectives of the government of Benin as well as the extended donor 
community 
 
¶4.  By targeting geographic areas where important social disparities 
occur, complementing already existing interventions, and working to 
strengthen the interaction between its three sectoral programs, the 
proposed UNICEF country program in Benin will be an important and 
specific contributor to coordinated efforts focused on advancing 
towards achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. 
 
¶5.  UNICEF Partnership with USG, other donors, other UN agencies, 
and the host country and UNICEF Effectiveness in Country: 
 
¶6.  UNICEF is an important financial and technical partner in the 
education, health and social sectors for USAID and other donor 
agencies. UNICEF is one of the most active partners in the education 
donor group. For example, UNICEF played a key role in the joint 
committee of Technical and Financial Partners assisting the 
Ministries of Education in the development and design of the 
education sector ten-year development plan. It also played an 
important role in the evaluation process of the plan and in Benin's 
acceptance into the Education for All Fast Track Initiative. UNICEF 
also assisted with Benin's application for Catalytic Funds, which 
subsequently awarded $76.1 million to support the ten-year plan. 
 
¶7.  UNICEF works in close collaboration with several government 
ministries at both national and local levels. It has been effective 
in its collaboration with the Ministry of Family and Children in 
developing a policy for child protection and with the Ministry of 
Justice in passing an anti-trafficking law, and a related code of 
conduct for transporters. UNICEF recently collaborated with the 
Ministry of Primary Education in developing an in-service teacher 
training program for community teachers, and continues to have a 
productive relationship with the Direction of Girls' Education in 
the Ministry of Primary Education. In partnership with this 
direction, UNICEF developed a national girls' education policy, now 
used in their awareness raising activities with local and district 
government agencies, schools and the community. 
 
¶8.  UNICEF continues to be a good partner for USAID as both 
institutions work together in targeted geographic areas on child 
health, including Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI), 
Malaria, and Prevention of Mother-To-Child Transmission of HIV. 
During implementation of the current country program, UNICEF has 
effectively worked with other donors to achieve health objectives in 
Benin. One specific example was UNICEF's commitment and extensive 
participation in the bed net distribution campaign conducted by the 
government of Benin in October 2007.  Not only did UNICEF 
participate by contributing commodities (bed nets and vitamin A) 
like the other donors, UNICEF also enabled effective communication 
among the donors and provided five months of consultancy to the 
National Malaria Control Program to assist in designing and 
implementing a communication plan to support the distribution 
campaign. Also in malaria-specific donors' coordination, UNICEF 
participates in USAID/Benin's initiative to coordinate donors' 
efforts supporting the government in terms of policy implementation 
and effective use of resources under a good governance framework. 
 
¶9.  UNICEF's heath interventions from 2004 to 2008 have focused on 
the Zou-Collines regions, thus complementing USAID's integrated 
Family Health Team project's interventions in the same health zones. 
 USAID and UNICEF, together with WHO, are currently working with the 
Ministry of Health to conduct a review of the EPI program and assess 
the decline in immunization coverage during the past five years as 
well as investigate the underlying factors in the recent decline in 
child and infant mortality rates as revealed by the DHS-3 findings 
in order to support scaled up best and promising practices. 
 
¶10.  One weakness in the area of collaboration and coordination with 
the wider donor community is that the country program for 2009-2013 
does not indicate whether UNICEF will continue in the same health 
zones or shift interventions to new geographic areas. In addition, 
no reference is made in the document on how and where UNICEF's 
planned program will complement other donors' interventions.  The 
list of donors provided in the section on major partnerships does 
not answer the question of concrete steps UNICEF plans to take to 
make its plans for partnerships with other donors operational. 
 
Boustani