By Wallace Mawire
The collaboration between Zimbabwe and United Nations partners like the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has been hailed for driving positive change in the country.
The remarks have been made in a statement by the UNDP-Zimbabwe office at the launch of the 2023/24 Human Development Report (HDR) titled:Breaking the Gridlock:Reimaging cooperation in a polarised world in Harare today.
According to Dr Ayodele Odusola, UNDP Resident Representative in Zimbabwe the global report was launched last Wednesday in New York in the United States of America (USA).
According to a statement at the launch in Harare by UNDP, while the report highlights the dangers of rising political polarization and deglobalization, Zimbabwe offers compelling examples of how collaboration can drive positive change.
It is said that the UNDP Zimbabwe office, alongside the government of Zimbabwe is actively working towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through successful initiatives in food security, health, energy access and building resilience.
Towards eliminating hunger, UNDP and the government of Zimbabwe are reported to have supported over 40 000 farmers in southern Zimbabwe with climate smart crop varieties, producing nutritious produce resistant to climate stress.
These efforts are reported to have produced yields as high as 74% beyond traditional harvest levels, supported by new climate change informed infrastructure such as automatic weather stations, rain gauges, hydro stations and irrigation facilities, with over 1,1 million beneficiaries.
UNDP says that an on-going partnership has ensured that 98% of Zimbabwe’s 1,3 million people living with HIV are currently on Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART),while 1 044 health facilities have now installed solar power, including 447 solarized boreholes to supply water.
The organization adds that additional partnerships have led to the installation of a 152 kilowatt mini-grid system in Binga and Chipinge, as well as 150 biogas digesters to facilitate safer and environmentally friendly cooking.
UNDP says that these achievements and many more are all owed to the partnership and collaboration among the Ministry of Health and Child Care, the Global Fund and UNDP Zimbabwe as well as strategic collaboration with the European Union (EU),the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and the governments of Sweden and Denmark.
The agency however, says that challenges remain, particularly the chiiling effect of debt arrears on foreign investment.They say that the recent government’s budget allocation to address the issue is a positive step, but more action from creditors is needed.
It is said that the 2023/24 HDR emphasis particularly on a ‘’whole-of-society approach’’ resonates with Zimbabwe’s context.it says that the private sector’s investment and the constructive role of civil society and media are essential for amplifying the successes and achieving the SDGs.
