Malawi and the United Nations (UN) yesterday signed a new United Nations Development Assistance Framework (Undaf) which has an envelope resource of $1.1 billion (about K805 billion ).
Undaf is a strategic plan for the United Nations Country Team (UNCT) contributing to Malawi Government’s national development priorities and actions for the 2019-2023 period.
According to Malawi Government and UN officials, the resources will cover three strategic pillars of peace and effective institutions; population management and inclusion as well as inclusive and resilient economic growth.
UN resident representative Maria Jose Torres Macho said in an interview the Undaf will be instrumental in the implementation of the Malawi Growth Development Strategy (MGDS) III which was formulated to guide the attainment of the country’s long-term development aspirations.
“There is another area which is new in the framework, as it is aligned to the implementation of MDGS III and Sustainable Development Goals which Malawi has to meet by 2030,” she said.
In his remarks, Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development Goodall Gondwe hailed the UN for its consistent support to the country’s social sector.
He said: “With support from the UN, Malawi has made significant progress in health, agriculture, education, gender and the development effectiveness agenda. It is pleasing that the indicative resource envelope for the Undaf will help Malawi work towards achieving the goals of the MDGS 3 and the Agenda 2030.”
Gondwe, who claimed that the country’s economy is on track, sounded confident that the new Undaf will help Malawi achieve its development aspirations.
The framework seeks to improve development through the attainment of the pillars that address root causes of development challenges such as poor governance, climate change, weak economic structures, rapid population growth and negative social norms.
