The United Nations (UN) has celebrated 60 years of operation in Malawi by reaffirming its commitment to promoting inclusive development to continue reaching vulnerable rural populations.
Speaking at the celebrations in Malingunde, Lilongwe, UN Resident Coordinator Rebecca Adda-Dontoh said there is need to focus on inclusive, resilient and sustainable initiatives that bridge the country’s development gaps.
She said: “For development to be sustainable, it must be inclusive. It is important that collectively we build resilience that reaches every community urban and rural because lasting prosperity and progress means leaving no one behind.”
Dontoh also highlighted the need to empower more youths as key contributors to the Malawi 2063 (MW2063) and sustain able development.
“We are prioritising various areas acknowledging that young people are among the most affected and vulnerable and yet they are essential to the country’s progress and we want them on the forefront,” she said.
Noting that over the years Malawi has enjoyed strong relations with the UN, Dontoh said there is need to encourage open dialogue to address and assess progress on the pressing issues, including economic instability, climate change and gender inequalities and to assess UN programmes to ensure they are meeting local needs effectively.
In her remarks, Minister of Foreign Affairs Nancy Tembo, who attended the celebrations, commended the UN for its long-standing support and broader contributions which have aligned Malawi’s development strategies with the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“The UN has been a vital partner in health, education, poverty reduction and many other areas of development. Looking back, there is a lot that we can point that we have been able to achieve because of the existence of the UN,” she said.
Tembo said going forward, government will work collectively with the organisation and its agencies in the country, underscoring the importance of unity and collaboration in tackling shared challenges.
As part of the celebrations, the UN donated school materials to Malingunde Primary School while some of its partners painted a classroom block and planted trees. World Health Organisation (WHO), a UN agency, donated infection prevention and control materials to the school on the day.
The event was attended by government officials and representatives from various UN agencies in Malawi, including the United Nations Children’s Fund, WHO and International Organisation for Migration.
