United Nations Day: Reflecting on the UN in Namibia

United Nations Day provides time for reflection on what role the UN ought to play in Namibia as well as how it can continue to serve the Namibian people and support the Namibian Government.

“Namibia joins the international community to reaffirm the purposes of the UN Charter, its principles and values. The maintenance of international peace and security, the development of friendly relations among nations, and international cooperation, speak to the core of what the United Nations stands for”, said Deputy Minister of International Relations and Coorperation Honourable Jenelly Matundu.

During this year’s 77th anniversary of UN Day, the UN Namibia alongside partners from the public and private sector celebrated development milestones and reflected on their collective aspirations to continue the work of materialising the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Mr. Sen Pang, United Nations Resident Coordinator to Namibia, noted that UN specialized agencies, programmes and funds have worked in conjunction with various actors to operationalize projects that have served the Namibian people.

The UN in Namibia has jointly spent close to 16 million USD, across six pillars outlined in the United Nations Partnership Framework (UNPAF). UNPAF guides UN Namibia’s work to ensure there remains a close alignment to national government priorities and strategic guiding documents for Namibia’s development agenda.

“We have been able to deliver in the ethos of partnership, a fundamental building block of the Sustainable Development Goals. The spirit of partnership has provided us the momentum and the means to push beyond the boundaries to reach vulnerable populations and groups”, said Pang.

Namibia and other UN members are at a crucial point in their global quest to achieve the SDGs, with less than 8 years until the 2030 deadline. Pang emphasised the urgency for partners and stakeholders to unite in order to accelerate sustainable solutions on the ground that will directly impact and transform the lives of communities.

Since becoming the 160th Member of the United Nations Family, Namibia has continued to leverage its relationship with the United Nations to deliver impactful results for its population.

More specifically, Honourable Matundu highlighted Namibia’s committed to the United Nations through the country’s engagements in multilateral fora, in maintaining peace and security, providing mechanisms for sustainable development, universal access to adequate health care, quality education with an emphasis on youth employment, and the advancement of women and the girl child.

Some UN Namibia key achievements from recent years include:

• 138 hectares of land was availed to beneficiaries for farming to ensure inclusive development and poverty reduction for vulnerable groups
• Trained young people with disabilities from four regions in horticulture
• Close to half a million USD was allocated to support locust control in the country
• 34 430 children were screened monthly for acute malnutrition, and 3000 people were provided with temporary mobile toilets and safe access to water

Stakeholders from government, the business community and diplomatic community took the also had the opportunity to say their farewells to UNRC Sen Pang as his tenure comes to an end. World Health Organization (WHO) Representative Dr. Charles Sagoe-Moses applauded Mr. Pang on behalf of the UN Namibia family for his leadership style and deep belief in the transformative power of collaboration to bring about change.