UN Namibia

UN Namibia
“Onwards and upwards” for the
UN System in Namibia in 2017
2016 was a successful year for the UN
System in terms of ‘Delivering as One’ to
support the Government of the Republic
of Namibia in pursuing its development
priorities.
The UN contributed to the formulation
of the fifth National Development Plan
(NDP5) and the Poverty Blueprint, as new
priorities arise and old ones remain. The
UN hosted the CADRI mission to assess
the National Disaster Risk Management
System and to provide concrete recommendations.
The UN also supported Government
to launch the Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs) as well as to revive
and subsequently co-chair the Development
Partnership Forum.
In 2017, guided by SDG 17, we will continue
to implement the activities that we
agreed upon with Government in our United
Nations Partnership Framework (UN-
PAF) for 2014 to 2018 around the areas of
Poverty Reduction, Institutional Environment,
Education and Skills, and Health.
In addition, we will implement the recommendations
made in last year’s UNPAF
Mid-Term Review, whilst simultaneously
planning the next UNPAF (2019-2023) together
with our Partners.
networks with all development partners.
In addition, we will continue to assist Namibia
in implementing the SDGs and the
African Union’s Agenda 2063. This will
involve the prioritization, localization, advocacy,
outreach, mainstreaming as well
as monitoring and evaluation of the Goals.
“We look forward to joining hands with our Partners to make 2017 a productive
year towards a prosperous Namibia where no one is left behind.”
UNRC to Namibia Kiki Gbeho
UN Namibia Newsletter : Volume 2, Issue 1
In this issue: The UN System in Namibia
looks forward to 2017 and is excited to work
as ‘One’ to achieve development goals with
the Government of the Republic of Namibia
and its Partners.
UNESCO strives for peace and
security
UNESCO’s mandate is to contribute to
peace and security by promoting collaboration
among nations through education,
science, culture and communication information
(CI) in order to further universal
respect for justice, law, human rights and
fundamental freedoms.
In 2017, education continues the second
phase of the China Funds-in-Trust Project,
addressing the need for more and betterqualified
teachers through training. We
will pursue the Education for Sustainable
Development (ESD) Implementation Strategy
through different modes of education,
guiding and giving direction to the provision
for ESD in all sectors of the economy,
while also starting UNESCO clubs in Namibia.
The HIV & AIDS section will focus on the
distribution of the Teachers’ resource
packs on Comprehensive Sexuality Edu-
Continues on page 2
We, as the UN Family, are committed to
remain Government’s Partner of Choice.
We intend to enhance the partnerships
we have built by both
deepening the collaboration in the sectoral
working groups and broadening our
January 2017 - Page 1
Mr. Chimbidzikai Mapfumo visiting the San community in Tsumkwe
to facilitate an interview of the people in the area. UNESCO

cation (CSE) to all regions and render
training support to Life Skills teachers.
The CI sector achieves our mandate
through the observance of days such as
World Radio Day, World Press Freedom
Day, Universal Access to Information Day
and International Day to End Impunity for
Crimes against Journalists. This year we
aim to strengthen and widen the initiative
of Youth Mobile Applications and develop
a masterplan for the development of community
radio in Namibia.
Culture will implement conventions ratified
by Namibia including The Conventions
on the Protection of the Diversity of
Cultural Heritage (2005) and Convention
for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural
Heritage (2003). Museums, research and
training and cultural tourism development
and creative industries are also our focus.
We believe sustainable development begins
with education (SDG 4). All the goals
are interlinked and influence UNESCO’s
work. In Culture goals 9,11,8, 4, 6, 13, 14,
15, 16 and 2 apply. Science satisfies goals,
6, 7, 9, 13, 15 and 17 while CI has goal 16.
FAO addresses food insecurity
The Food and Agriculture Organization
of the United Nations (FAO) is one of
the UN Agencies in Namibia focusing on
agriculture, forestry, fisheries and rural
development. At the heart of the FAO is
achieving food security for all, to make
sure that people have regular access to
enough high-quality food to lead active
and healthier lives.
The most important objective of the FAO in
Namibia is to help eliminate hunger, food
insecurity and malnutrition, and to make
agriculture, forestry and fisheries more
productive and sustainable and reduce rural
poverty. In Namibia, the FAO supports
the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry
in development of programmes that
will lead to a sustainable food achievement
and the eradication of poverty.
The Country Programming Framework
Namibia 2014 -2018 (CPF) sets out priority
areas to guide the FAO partnership
with and support to the Government of
Namibia in the areas of agriculture and
food and nutrition security, water, lands,
fisheries and forestry sectors. The priority
areas are: enabling policy, legal and
institutional environment for food and nutrition
security and agricultural development;
sustainable agricultural production;
linking farmers to markets; and improved
preparedness against agricultural threats
and crises.
UNICEF Representative, Micaela Marques de Sousa with mother and baby at Engela
Hospital promoting the importance of birth registration. UNICEF will continue to support
communities to ensure that children survive and thrive in 2017. UNICEF
UNICEF Namibia will ensure that
children thrive in 2017
UNICEF Namibia is guided by a Programme
of Cooperation with the Government
of the Republic of Namibia (2014-
18). The overall goal is to accelerate
realization of the rights of children and
women through national systems, to ensure
that the most vulnerable people in
Namibia have equitable access to highquality
services, including in health, education,
child protection, social protection
and water, sanitation and hygiene.
In 2017, UNICEF globally will celebrate the
70th anniversary of its founding. In this regard,
UNICEF Namibia shall work with the
GRN and various partners in the country
to celebrate the immense progress made
for the country’s children in the areas of
health, child protection, education and social
development.
Despite impressive progress, thousands
of children are still being left behind because
they live in poverty or in hard-toreach
communities, because of their
gender, race, religion, ethnic group, or because
they have a disability. UNICEF will
therefore focus on renewing the urgent
call to reach these children and ensure
a country in which every child is healthy,
safe, educated, cared for and protected.
Most of the 17 Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs) are directly linked
to children, while the others will impact
children’s lives and future generations.
Throughout 2017, UNICEF’s efforts will
be linked primarily to address SDG 1, 2, 3,
4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 13, 16, 17. Achieving these
goals by 2030 will advance the rights and
well-being of every child, especially the
most disadvantaged, meeting their needs,
protecting them from harm and securing
a healthy planet for them and future generations.
FAO Representative to Namibia Dr. Babagana Ahmadu evaluates a field. FAO
January 2017 - Page 2

2017 ILO technical assistance in
Namibia to achieve SDG No. 8
ILO work in Namibia is coordinated
through the ILO Country Office based in
Harare, Zimbabwe with technical support
from the Decent Work Team in Pretoria
and Geneva.
Secondary level learner shares her thoughts on gender equality during the Prosperous
Paths: Leading in Vocation programme, which reached over 5,000 students across
Windhoek and educated learners about Goal 5 of the SDGs, ‘Gender Equality’. UNIC
ILO work will continue to be delivered
through the Decent Work Country Programme
(DWCP) for Namibia, which reflects
the country’s priorities and strategies
for promoting decent work that is at
the centre of SDG8. This will be through
promoting employment creation, social
protection, social dialogue and rights at
work. A new DWCP will be formulated
in 2017 informed by the NDP5, the HPP
2016/17 to 2019/20, and the 2014 – 2018
UNPAF and the SDGs.
UNIC communicates UN’s work
with Namibia
The United Nations Information Centre
(UNIC) is the link between UN agencies
and the public and serves as a reliable
source of up-to-date information about
the UN and specifically the UN System in
Namibia.
UNIC produces and disseminates information
products with the aim of promoting
greater public understanding of and
support for the aims and activities of
the UN such as the Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs). Through strategic
engagements with media, educational institutions,
government, local civil society
organizations and the private sector, the
Centre adapts global UN messages to suit
the local context through a variety of information
products and material aimed at
different target audiences.
UNIC maintains a reference library which
is open to the public and holds UN System
wide publications. The Centre implements
a coordinated communications strategy
to publicize priority issues and major observances
and events.
UNIC Windhoek will promote the 2017 Department
of Public Information priorities
which include UN observances, the post
2015 Sustainable Development Agenda,
gender and women’s empowerment, climate
change, human rights and youth, to
highlight a few. UNIC will also host youth
focused programmes such as Model UN,
High School Practicum Programme, Prosperous
Paths and UN4U as a way to amplify
youth voices and raise awareness.
In an effort to promote implementation
of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals
at a local level, UNIC will continue to raise
awareness, communicating what the
goals are, highlighting bold actions and
commitments that government, the private
sector and civil society are taking to
integrate the SDGs into actions plans and
sharing how individuals can take action
for the goals.
In collaboration with Government through
the Ministry of Labour and social partners
through the Namibian Employers’ Federation
(NEF), the National Union of Namibian
Workers (NUNW) and the Trade Union
Congress of Namibia (TUCNA), the ILO
will seek to achieve decent work results in
the following areas:
1. Strengthening Collective Bargaining
and Mutual Gains Negotiation Skills in the
Public Sector, Fisheries, Mining, Hospitality
and Retail Sectors;
2. Promoting gender equality in the labour
market through application of International
Labour Standards (ILS) on equal remuneration
and non-discrimination;
3. Technical support for the National Statistical
Agency for 2016 Labour Force
Survey (LFS) data analysis using the new
criteria measurement of work; and
4. Technical assistance towards a national
dialogue on a National Minimum Wage
Policy and the classification of jobs in the
Public Service.
Hopolang Phororo is the Director for the ILO Zimbabwe
and Namibia Country Office based in Harare. ILO
January 2017 - Page 3

UNDP Namibia remains committed
to leaving no one behind
The United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP) in Namibia, supports
government to simultaneously achieve
the eradication of poverty by 2025,
through empowering lives and building resilient
nations.
UNDP Namibia has a people centered approach,
and provides continued support
to government on the path to achieving
all national development plans including:
NDP 4, the Harambee Prosperity Plan
(HPP), Vision 2030, and the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs).
UNDP Namibia’s support to Namibia in
2017 is based on two pillars; Poverty
Eradication and Energy and Environment.
Under the poverty pillar we aim to:
• Continue to strengthen national capacity
for development of policies and strategies
aimed at reducing poverty.
• Support capacity development for implantation
of community based poverty
eradication measures.
• Mainstream, governance, gender, HIV
and health issues into poverty eradication
interventions.
“UNDP has a people centred approach”
UNDP Namibia
Under the Energy and Environment pillar
we aim to:
• Strengthen national capacities to improve
energy security and to mainstream
renewable energy.
• Improve capacities for climate change
adaptation and resilience within the northern
regions of Namibia, focusing on women
and the youth.
• Strengthen national capacities to improve
water security and to mainstream
green technologies.
This year we will produce a National Human
Development Report- a UNDP flagship
publication; and further support the
Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare
to mainstream Gender Responsive
Budgeting across all government ministries.
UNDP Namibia will be focusing on SDG 1
No Poverty, SDG 7 Affordable and Clean
Energy, SDG 13 Climate Action, SDG 14
Life below Water and SDG 5 Gender Equality.
Enumerator
collecting
data using
an android
tablet,
during the
food and
nutrition
survey.
WFP
WFP works towards Zero Hunger
In Namibia, the World Food Programme
(WFP) provides technical assistance to
the Government aimed at strengthening
the food and nutrition security sector to
advance the achievement of zero hunger
(SDG 2).
WFP in 2017 will align its operations with
SDG 17, which calls for strengthened partnerships
to support the implementation
of SDGs by the Government of Namibia.
Hence partnerships will be important in
WFP’s operations, which seeks improved
collaboration with the Government, other
UN agencies and civic organisations working
in food and nutrition and other areas
contributing to the Zero Hunger agenda.
WFP technical assistance will support
Government’s efforts to enhance capacity
to respond to shocks through effective
early warning systems, to strengthen the
ability to plan, assess and design inclusive
response programmes and implementation.
A SCORE Project beneficiary
smiles as she
explains that her garden
has provided her
with a steady income
and food security, allowing
her to take
care of her family
and become a leader
in her community.
The SCORE Project
scales up resilience
to climate variability
and climate change
in Northern Namibia,
which a specilal focus
on women. UNDP
WFP will continue working with the Ministry
of Education, Arts and Culture in the
National School Feeding programme with
a focus on providing assistance in exploring
further the possibility of linking the
programme to smallholder farmers. This
follows the development of the Namibia
School Feeding policy in 2016. The policy
aims to improve the management and coordination
of school feeding and proposes
the diversification of the school diet with
locally produced foods and also for the
programme to expand its target to cover
secondary school learners.
To assist the Government to increase efficiency
of its safety nets, WFP will provide
technical assistance that will strengthen
the operational capacity to implement
food-based safety nets. Assistance will
target, among others areas, programme
design, beneficiary identification and registration.
January 2017 - Page 4

“Namibia records one of the highest
percentages of international migrants
in Southern Africa and is also
experiencing increasing internal
migration due to various reasons,
such as rural-urban migration.”
IOM Namibia
As part of its Resettlement Program, IOM Namibia has helped thousands of
refugees resettle to USA, Canada and Australia. IOM Namibia
IOM promotes humane migration
IOM, a leading intergovernmental organization
in the field of migration is committed
to the principle that humane and
orderly migration benefits migrants and
society. Migration and migration management
have become key issues in the 21st
Century due to globalization and the increasingly
interconnected world.
Namibia records one of the highest percentages
of international migrants in
Southern Africa and is also experiencing
increasing internal migration due to various
reasons, such as rural-urban migration.
Therefore, IOM Namibia supports the
Government of the Republic of Namibia
(GRN) in migration management activities
in several thematic areas including
but not limited to migration policy development,
labour migration, migration and
health, counter-trafficking, migration, environment
and climate change, or resettlement
of refugees to USA, Canada and
New Zealand.
In 2017 IOM will, in addition to its usual
fields of work, increase its efforts to support
the GRN in the area of migration, environment
and climate change. The goal
of these activities is to gather factual
evidence for the nexus between climate
change and human mobility in Namibia.
This evidence will then guide policy makers
and technical experts when developing
adequate and evidence-based policies
for Namibia. Migration is in cooperated
in SDG 10, target 7, to facilitate orderly,
safe regular and responsible migration
and mobility of people including through
implementation of planned and well managed
migration policies which appears
under Goal 10, “to reduce inequality within
and among countries”.
Did you know?
UN Women, the International Civil Aviation
Organization (ICAO), the United Nations
Office on Drugs and Crime (UNO-
DC), the United Nations Department of
Safety and Security (UNDSS) and the UN
Volunteers (UNV) also work in Namibia.
According to experts, climate change will
affect the Zambezi River Basin more severely
than any other river system in the
world. The resulting increase in flooding,
drought and levels of disease threaten
lives and livelihoods along the river.
(FAO, Namibia and FAO)
It’s the International Year of Sustainable
Tourism for Development. According to
the World Bank, World Tourism Organization,
Yearbook of Tourism Statistics,
Compendium of Tourism Satistics and
data files, international tourism receipts
totaled USD 517,000,000 for Namibia in
2014.
“States owe their people justice,
equality and dignity, under the rule
of law.”
Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights
OHCHR promotes and protects
human rights for all
As the principal United Nations office
mandated to promote and protect human
rights for all, the Office of the UN
High Commissioner for Human Rights
(OHCHR) leads global human rights efforts
and speaks out objectively in the
face of human rights violations worldwide.
OHCHR Regional Office for Southern
Africa is based in Pretoria, South Africa,
and covers 14 countries of the region,
including Namibia. While the Office does
not have a presence in the country, it provides
technical assistance upon request
to a number of partners, including Government,
Parliament, Office of the Ombudsman
of Namibia, national and international
civil society organisations and our UN
colleagues.
Human rights are essential to achieving
sustainable development and are deeply
anchored in each and every SDG Goal.
Having said this, OHCHR is most widely
associated with SDG Goal 16: Promote
peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable
development, provide access
to justice for all and build effective, accountable
and inclusive institutions at all
levels. In 2017, the Office will continue its
efforts to represent the world’s commitment
to universal ideals of human dignity,
including through supporting the work of
international human rights mechanisms,
namely UN Treaty Bodies, Universal Periodic
Review and Special Procedures of
the UN Human Rights Council.
January 2017 - Page 5

Last year, UNFPA handed over reproductive
health commodities to the Namibian
Government worth N$3 million. UNFPA
UNFPA is changing lives
UNFPA, the United Nations Population
Fund, is the lead UN Agency for delivering
a world where every pregnancy is wanted,
every childbirth is safe and every young
person’s potential is fulfilled. UNFPA expands
the possibilities for women and
young people to lead healthy and productive
lives as well as addresses reproductive
health, population issues and the wellbeing
of adolescents and youth.
UNFPA’s work is guided by the Programme
of Action, developed in 1994 at the International
Conference on Population and
Development in Cairo (ICPD), Namibia’s
development plans and the Sustainable
Development Goals.
This year, we are going to continue expanding
our work with young people (particularly
young girls) and women to ensure
that they have access to evidence-based
sexual and reproductive health information
and services, including comprehensive
sexuality education, in order to make
informed choices to protect themselves
and live up to their full potential. We are
also going to focus on gender equality and
women’s empowerment, advocating for
the right of all women and girls to live free
from of violence and abuse.
Since the adoption of the SDGs in September
2015, UNFPA has made rapid steps to
detail and expand a corporate vision on
how to tailor its work towards achieving
the SDGs, in order to contribute to its implementation
not only globally, but also to
translate them into local realities.
“With partners like you, Namibians can live to see the day that HIV, unwanted
pregnancy and violence against women and girls have become history, if we
take action now.”
Honorable Deputy Minister of Health and Social Services
Juliet Kavetuna
UNAIDS supports Namibia’s
HIV/AIDS Response
The mandate of UNAIDS is to strengthen
the coordination of the Joint Programme
of the United Nations ‘to support the
country response on HIV/AIDS for ending
AIDS as a public threat by 2030’.
That includes: political advocacy to maintain
HIV/AIDS response as a national priority;
strategic planning and generation of
evidence to guide the response; support
to civil society particularly people living
with HIV; and support the resources mobilisation
for the country within the UN
System and through other mechanisms
such as the Global Fund to Fight AIDS,
Malaria and Tuberculosis and other financial
mechanisms.
In 2017, UNAIDS will focus on prevention
by supporting the development and
implementation of the 2017-2020 Elimination
of HIV Transmission from Mother
to Child (EMTCT) plan and support the Office
of the First Lady to roll out the Start
Free, Stay Free and AIDS Free initiative.
Regarding treatment, care and support,
UNAIDS will roll out of the Test and offer
ARV treatment to all people living with HIV
by engaging cities, local authorities and
civil society.
UNAIDS will also focus on the generation
of strategic information by supporting
a stigma index study to understand factors
driving stigma and discrimination. It
will also conduct the National Modes of
Transmission Study to determine where
new infections are coming from. In terms
of sustainability, UNAIDS will support the
implementation of 2016-2030 HIV/AIDS
Investment Framework by developing a
civil society resource mobilisation strategy
and developing a 2017-2022 Namibia
HIV/AIDS Strategic Framework for ending
AIDS by 2030.
UNAIDS will focus on SDGs Goal 3: Good
Health and Well-Being; Goal 5: Gender
Equality; and Goal 17: Partnership for the
Goals.
UNAIDS Representative to Namibia Tharcisse Barihuta shares information about
AIDS/HIV response at the UN Day Exhibition. UN Namibia
UNFPA remains committed to the principle
of inter-linkage between the 17 SDGs;
which means for example that supporting
policies and programmes that promote
gender equality and empowers women
and girls will both contribute to and benefit
from the accomplishment of most
SDGs.
January 2017 - Page 6

WHO works to achieve Namibia’s
health objectives
The World Health Organization (WHO)
supports the Namibian government and
its people – we coordinate the efforts of
multiple sectors of the government and
partners – including bilaterals and multilaterals,
funds and foundations, civil society
organizations and private sector – to
attain their health objectives and support
their national health policies and strategies.
We are the directing and coordinating
authority on international health within
the UN System.
January 2017 - Page 7
WHO works together with policy-makers,
global health partners, civil society, academia
and the private sector to support
Namibia to develop, implement and monitor
solid national health plans. In addition,
WHO supports government to assure the
availability of equitable integrated peoplecentred
health services at an affordable
price; facilitate access to affordable, safe
and effective health technologies; and to
strengthen health information systems
and evidence-based policy-making.
WHO focuses on health systems, promoting
health through the life-course, noncommunicable
diseases, communicable
diseases, corporate services; preparedness,
surveillance and response.
Since WHO is the directing and coordinating
authority on international health within
the UN System, we are mandated to ensure
good health and well-being (SGD 3).
WHO will continue working and ensuring
healthy lives and promoting the well-being
for all at all ages, as this is essential to
sustainable development. The 17 Global
Goals are so interdependent, therefore
WHO will support each and every effort
aimed at achieving the SDGs.
What’s on the calendar
for February?
4th- World Cancer Day
6th- International Day of Zero
Tolerance to Female
Genital Mutilation
11th- International Day of
Women and Girls in Science
13th- World Radio Day
20th- World Day of Social Justice
21st- International Mother
Language Day
2017 is the International Year
of Sustainable Tourism for
Development
World Tourism Organization (UNWTO):
The United Nations General Assembly
declared 2017 as the International Year
of Sustainable Tourism for Development
recalling the potential of
tourism to advance the
universal 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development
and the 17 Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs).
The International Year aims to support a
change in policies, business practices and
consumer behavior towards a more sustainable
tourism sector than can contribute
effectively to the SDGs.
“This is a unique opportunity
to build a more responsible
and committed
tourism sector that can
capitalize its immense potential in terms
of economic prosperity, social inclusion,
peace and understanding, cultural and
environmental preservation” said UNWTO
Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai.
Accounting for 7% of worldwide
exports, one in eleven
jobs and 10% of the world’s
GDP, the tourism sector if
well managed can foster
inclusive economic growth,
social inclusiveness and the protection of
cultural and natural assets.
The International Year will promote tourism’s
role in the following five key areas:
(1) Inclusive and sustainable
economic growth;
(2) Social inclusiveness,
employment and poverty
reduction;
(3) Resource efficiency, environmental
protection and climate change;
(4) Cultural values, diversity
and heritage; and
(5) Mutual understanding,
peace and security.
Stay updated with UN Namibia!
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Social Media- @UNNamibia
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