Technical Cooperation Report for 2004. Report by the Director General

The Technical Cooperation Report for 2004 highlights activities and achievements of the technical cooperation programme for the past year. During 2004, the Secretariat finalized the technical cooperation programme for the 2005-2006 biennium, which was approved by the Board of Governors in November 2004. A revised project appraisal process was carried out for the 2005-2006 programme, which yielded additional information regarding government commitment, national capabilities and project performance indicators and outcomes. Included in the 2005-2006 biennium is a strengthened programme for upgrading radiation protection infrastructure. The Secretariat used the experience of the past ten years, as well as conclusions from evaluations, to create a programme that would build upon the successes and lessons learned to provide the safe use of nuclear technology with well-regulated infrastructures. Activities carried out in 2004 built upon previous achievements through national and regional projects in many thematic areas. The programme continued to reinforce the capacity for cancer diagnosis and therapy by providing training and expertise and supporting the procurement of equipment. Consistent support for surveillance techniques using nuclear technology is helping to fight trans-boundary animal diseases, and is leading to countries becoming rinderpest-free. The Secretariat continued to provide expertise and support to assist with the repatriation of highly enriched uranium reactor fuel to the country of origin. The development of partnerships with other United Nations organizations, as well as non-governmental organizations, continues to be of great importance to the technical cooperation programme. In 2004, for example, a memorandum of understanding was signed with the Regional Office for Africa (AFRO) of the World Health Organization (WHO) to support the improvement of health conditions and to raise standards of health in the region. Extrabudgetary resources reached more than $10 million for the second year in a row. This provided support to 17% of the approved footnote-a/ programme for 2004. In addition, receipt in 2004 of $8.1 million against earlier target years allowed the Secretariat to reinstate, during the second quarter of the year, programme budgets which had been curtailed as a result of the lower than expected resources received in 2003. During the year, the Secretariat has been heavily involved in a review of TC processes, with a view to streamline and strengthen them. The main part of the change process is planned to be completed in 2005. While the implementation rate for the programme dropped four percentage points to 68%, compared with 2003, the total disbursements for the programme in 2004 were slightly higher than in 2003 by nearly $120 000. A further challenge to the programme has been the replacement of assessed programme costs with national participation costs as approved by the Board of Governors in 2004. (author)