By Bernard Mutambudzi
The United Nations Development Agencies in Zimbabwe has hailed the tremendous effort demonstrated by Government in implementing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a resident representative of UNDP Zimbabwe revealed.
UNDP resident Co-ordinator, Bishow Parajuli made the remarks at the 73rd celebrations of United Nations (UN) existence, held in Harare today, where he appreciated efforts by Government towards fulfilling SDGs especially in the health and education sectors.
“Zimbabwe has made great strides especially in areas of education and health because of the unity of purpose displayed by all stakeholders,” said Parajuli.
Thanking the UN and development partners for their proactive participation, Bishow Parajuli said, “The celebrations will serve as a platform for multidisciplinary policy dialogue to advance Zimbabwe’s progress towards the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and foster development cooperation under guiding principles of national ownership of development programmes, focus on results, inclusiveness and transparency and accountability.”
In this regard, the Resident Coordinator said that coordination of development cooperation at the strategic and policy levels based on common vision and understanding for Zimbabwe’s future was critical.
According to the latest available data, Zimbabwe receives a substantial amount of Official Development Assistance to the tune of USD 815 million since the inception of the SDGs programme, to complement Government development efforts.
Commending development partners for their continued commitment, Mr Bishow said, “Through the 2016-2020 Zimbabwe UN Development Assistance Framework (ZUNDAF), the United Nations delivered over USD 600 million of development assistance.
“Under the Humanitarian Response Plan, with the generous support and solidarity from the development partners, the UN and NGOs delivered over USD 218 million of humanitarian assistance to the most vulnerable and food insecure people negatively affected by the El Nino-induced drought. It is, therefore, critical to ensure this generous support continues and we show high impact”, added Mr. Parajuli.
Going forward, UN reiterated its commitment to support the strengthening of national institutions and systems, and optimizing the value of contributions by development partners to national capacity, development through enhanced common results management and reporting framework as well as coordinated support to the overall development including resilience building, disaster risk reduction, preparedness and response.
Noting the need for joint efforts to target the most vulnerable populations and address the root causes of multi-dimensional vulnerabilities, the UN Resident Coordinator said, “Investments and efforts must have a lasting impact on eradicating poverty and reducing inequality, on sustainable development, on promoting inclusive growth, and on enhancing national capacities, aligned with the national priorities and policy.”
