The United Nations in Namibia has mobilised what it calls 'catalytic funding' to complement the efforts of the government in addressing unemployment.
Heads of UN agencies, led by the Resident Coordinator, Hopolang Phororo, held a courtesy meeting with President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah at State House.
"I am really glad to have been joined today by the UN family, an important body in overseeing global issues from politics, peace and stability and, equally important, development, because what we are looking at at all times is how to bring about sustainable development in taking care of the well-being of the citizens of the world, so I am really glad we found time to meet," said President Nandi-Ndaitwah.
Encouraged by President Nandi-Ndaitwah's resolve to address unemployment as stated in the State of the Nation Address, the UN has been looking at ways to assist the country.
The UN says that the strategies to reduce unemployment, particularly among youth, poverty, and income inequalities, resonate closely with its overarching objectives.
Resident Coordinator Phororo revealed that the UN has managed to mobilise financial resources through the Sustainable Development Goal Fund.
"And we are implementing that through the Global Accelerator on Jobs and Social Protection for Just Transitions, and this is part of what President Hage Geingob had requested: Namibia to be a pathfinder country. So we are then continuing to work with various government ministries on addressing this employment situation, looking at the biomass sector and seeking how we can be able to have that catalytic impact."
The UN in Namibia hopes to secure additional funding as it develops proposals in consultation with the Ministry of Finance.
"That is to complement this first tranche of resources that we are talking about. The first one was to the tune of 1.8 million, and the second one, we are talking about a tranche of about a million US dollars, and for the second tranche, we will work also closely with the World Bank, so that is the first point – just to say that we are really eager to collaborate with the government in bringing the technical expertise."
Last year, the UN launched a cooperation framework that is to run until 2029 and that is to be implemented by its agencies.