Zimpapers Logo

Farirai Machivenyika Senior Reporter

THE United Nations (UN) and other development partners have validated the 2021 development programmes and projects worth US$523 million under the just-ended 2016-2021 Zimbabwe-UN Development Assistance Framework (ZUNDAF).

The Government, the UN, donors and development partners yesterday met in Harare and agreed on new priority areas under the 2022-2026 Zimbabwe UN Sustainable Development Co-operation (ZUNSDCF) that will be guided by the country’s inclusive development thrust.

The meeting was attended by senior Government representatives, the UN, development partners, donors, civil society, and NGOs and validated development results achieved in 2021 under the 2016-2021 Zim-UN assistance framework.

The ZUNSDCF joint senior steering committee meeting was co-chaired by the Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet, Dr Misheck Sibanda, and the UN resident and humanitarian co-ordinator Mr Edward Kallon. The development partners validated the 2021 UN-supported development programmes and projects.

They also adopted development priorities for 2022 and beyond that were identified as key programmes and projects in keeping the focus on the interventions that will contribute to the realisation of the ZUNSDCF in ending poverty, transforming the lives of all citizens, and protecting the environment.

The priority areas agreed to include socio-economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, climate action, and resilience-building and programmes focusing on youth, women, persons with disability, indigenous populations, key populations, migrants, and other populations of concern under the principle of leaving no one behind.

“This shared commitment is focusing on delivering concrete development results that ensure inclusive participation and reaching the people who historically and typically are left the furthest behind on the socio-economic development landscape.

“Our thrust as the Government, UN, and partners is to work together to accelerate impactful sustainable development during the Decade of Action as we emerge stronger and recover better from the Covid-19 pandemic,” Dr Sibanda said.

The ZUNSDCF is the strategic instrument for planning and implementation of the UN-supported development programmes and projects in the country.

Mr Kallon thanked the donor community for their support that facilitated the delivery of development projects and programmes worth US$523 million in 2021.

“As the UN, we collectively remain committed to achieving the aspirations of the Co-operation Framework through the deployment of human, technical and financial resources in the most effective and efficient manner towards delivering on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including the transformative recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic,” Mr Kallon said.

Given the ambition of SDGs and the urgency of their implementation timeline, the ZUNSDCF guides the entire programme cycle, comprising planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation as well as reporting on collective UN support in the developmental process.

It also determines and reflects on the UN development system’s contributions to the country and shapes the configuration of UN support required inside and outside the country.