Reinvigorating the partnership between the UN and the Ministry of Women, Community and Social Development (MWCSD) for greater impact at the community level.

The roundtable meeting was co-chaired by the Minister for MWCSD, Mulipola Anarosa Ale Molio’o and the United Nations Resident Coordinator (UNRC), Mr. Themba Kalua, and it agreed on crucial areas of support and collaboration, towards timely and effective achievement of the national development priorities, serving the interest of women, children and communities at large in Samoa.

In line with the commitment of the United Nations (UN) to align and support the national development priorities, during the meeting MWCSD shared its priorities including Gender Equality, Ending Violence, Disability, Child Protection, Early Childhood Development, Community Inclusive Development, Climate Change, Community Economic Empowerment, District Development Program, Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) preparations and the ICT Infrastructure.

“But at the heart of these priorities are the people, and the change we make in the lives of the people measures the success of our work, the Honorable Minister, Mulipola Anarosa Ale Molioo” said when she underscored the significance of the roundtable.

The UN Resident Coordinator, Mr. Themba Kalua reassured the Ministry of the UN’s commitment to align its support with the national priorities and support the Ministry’s mandate which is key to realizing the commitment to leaving no one behind.

The meeting then agreed that the UN will provide support in the capacity development of MWCSD and its key stakeholders. The UN will work with the MWCSD on the development of new joint programmes, strengthening of data and statistics for evidence- based policy and programming; and provision of technical assistance in organizing the forum during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) which are led by the MWCSD.

Over the years, the UN has remained one of the key development partners of the MWCSD, providing technical expertise and resources to support the MWCSD priority areas such as ending violence against women and girls, community outreach, women’s economic empowerment and leadership, women, climate change, persons with disabilities, early childhood development, child protection, reporting to and implementation of recommendations from international human rights mechanisms and data collection.

In addition to the ongoing development support from the UN and based on the MWCSD request to the UN, the UN Resident Coordinator also reassured the MWCSD, that the UN will provide technical support to the Youth and Women Forum that the MWCSD will be coordinating as part of the key events during the upcoming CHOGM.

With the closure of the EU – UN Spotlight Initiative in which the MWCSD is the leading implementing partner, the roundtable also agreed to develop a joint programme on gender-based violence to sustain the achievements from the Spotlight Initiative. The design will start early next year and will build on the successes from Spotlight Initiative and will incorporate the lessons learned including from the evaluation that will be concluded in the first quarter of next year.

Another area that the roundtable agreed on for joint collaboration is on strengthening capacity on data and statistics. The Minister emphasized that it is crucial to conduct a study to assess and determine baselines which will be beneficial to measure progress in several areas going forward. The meeting agreed to leverage the upcoming demographic health survey and multiple indicator cluster survey (DHS-MICS).

The meeting also discussed areas to improve the partnership to make it more efficient and effective including simplify and harmonizing reporting procedures and procurement systems. The UN and the MWCSD have agreed to explore solutions to address and minimize these challenges so that the implementation of joint programmes is unhindered.

The main UN entities that have worked with the Ministry over the years include the UN Women, UNDP, UNICEF, UNFPA, UNESCO, and UNOHCHR. There is an opportunity for more UN entities to join in supporting the Ministry in light of the UN’s expanding footprint in Samoa.

This initial roundtable meeting that was supported by the UN Women is not a one off. The Ministry and the UN agreed to the next meeting to discuss progress and updates on the 22nd of January 2024. 

The roundtable meetings are expected to continue setting a pathway towards the acceleration of the achievement of the SDGs, national development priorities and the 2050 strategy for the Blue Pacific continent.