UNDP unveils five-year development programme

Multidimensional poverty reduction is the goal of a new five-year programme developed for Jamaica by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

The programme, which was provided through the UNDP Multi-Country Office, was officially launched on Thursday, January 26, at the AC Hotel by Marriott in Kingston.

Priority areas for the 2022-to-2026 cycle include social resilience and inclusion, citizen safety and security and the rule of law, climate-change resilience, and sustainable natural resource management.

The programme’s provisions will also be effected in The Bahamas, Bermuda, Turks and Caicos Islands, and The Cayman Islands.

Speaking at the launch, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Kamina Johnson Smith said the Ministry and the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) collaborated on the programme’s development.

“We, therefore, welcome the commitment that the UNDP has shown to consultation with policy-makers, development practitioners, and stakeholders at varying levels, to ensure closer alignment between the desired outcomes of the UNDP and the priorities articulated in our National Development Plan,” she stated.

Johnson Smith said the programme “takes stock” of Jamaica’s social-protection system, gender-equality gap, crime and violence, and the poverty rate between rural and urban areas.

SIGNATURE SOLUTIONS

She pointed out that signature solutions include the expansion of broadband access to underserved communities, and systemic changes in the justice system using equitable human-rights and gender-responsive approaches.

“[Additionally] support for the implementation of Jamaica’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to fulfil our international climate-related commitments [and] support to boost Jamaica’s capacity to sustainably extract and transform locally sourced development minerals into manufacturing, construction and agricultural products,” Johnson Smith said.

Meanwhile, UNDP resident representative, Denise Antonio said the organisation offers a “uniquely tailored approach”, to help reduce multidimensional poverty.

She said the entity’s Human Development Report noted that “90 per cent of countries reported a decline in the Human Development Index score for 2020 or 2021”.

JIS