Although the states of Chiapas, Tabasco and Veracruz account for most of Mexico's water resources, water and sanitation service coverage is very uneven due to socioeconomic factors, ethnicity and gender inequality. The aim of this Joint Programme was to improve the integrated management of water in peri-urban and rural areas of Mexico and to combat poverty from the standpoint of environmental sustainability and gender equality. The programme contributed to achieving MDGs 1, 3 and 7 by diminishing inequalities in accessing an essential resource, particularly for women and the poor.

Despite an almost 80 % drop in its poverty rate over the last 15 years, Vietnam continues to struggle with significant inequalities, particularly in rural areas. This Joint Programme's goal was to increase incomes and work opportunities for producers of handicrafts and growers and collectors of raw materials for craft production. It targeted 4,000 poor farming and crafts producing households in the four northern provinces of Vietnam, including families from ethnic minorities such as the Thai, Muong and H’mong.

One in three ever married Vietnamese women reports having suffered physical or sexual violence at the hands of her spouse. This Joint Programme worked with the government to build gender equality and combat gender-based violence by strengthening capacity for reporting, gender analysis, sex disaggregated data collection and monitoring.

Despite the constraints of being newly independent and one of the poorest countries in the world, Timor Leste has joined the global effort to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, including the goal of promoting gender equality and empowering women. The Joint Programme supported government efforts to protect women from violence and economic hardship and ensure their equal access to justice by assisting in the formulation of legislation and gender-sensitive budgeting, building capacity to prevent human trafficking, and improving services for victims of violence.