HARARE, Zimbabwe – The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has reaffirmed its commitment to working with Zimbabwe to achieve its 2030 development goals, focusing on key areas such as human capital development, environmental sustainability, economic empowerment, and governance reforms.
Speaking after the High-Level Programme Board meeting to shape Zimbabwe’s development priorities for 2025, UNDP Resident Representative Dr. Ayondele Odusola emphasized that the organization’s role in the country aligns strictly with its development mandate.
“We are here to work with the government and the people of Zimbabwe to achieve the 2030 agenda,” Odusola said. “Our support operates under four pillars: people, planet, prosperity, and peace.”
UNDP’s 2024 initiatives directly impacted over 2.3 million people, demonstrating progress across its four strategic pillars:
People: Strengthening health systems, social protection, and youth empowerment, with 1,744 health facilities benefiting from expanded service access.
Planet: Advancing climate resilience through sustainable agriculture and the expansion of renewable energy solutions, impacting 572 hectares of irrigated land and over 421,500 beneficiaries.
Prosperity: Unlocking economic opportunities by facilitating $21 million in capital investments into Zimbabwe’s Renewable Energy Fund, driving sustainable livelihoods.
Peace: Enhancing governance, human rights, and justice sector reforms, including the development of Zimbabwe’s Electoral Gender and Disability Inclusion Policies.
Among the key focus areas, Odusola said on Human Capital and Social Development, UNDP, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Child Care, has provided solar energy to 1,072 health facilities, generating 13.6 megawatts of renewable energy to strengthen Zimbabwe’s healthcare infrastructure. The initiative falls under the Global Fund’s broader effort to support marginalized communities and enhance human capital development.
In terms of the Environmental Protection and Climate Adaptation, Odusola said under its environmental pillar, UNDP has spearheaded climate action initiatives, including the completion of several irrigation facilities in 2024 and the reconstruction of infrastructure lost to extreme weather events. The agency is also partnering with the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, and Wildlife to implement digital technology for monitoring poaching in national parks. Notably, elephant populations in the Lower Zambezi Valley have significantly declined due to poaching, prompting intervention efforts.
Regards the Economic Empowerment and Value Addition, UNDP said it is advocating for Zimbabwe to transition from raw material exports to value addition in key sectors such as mining and agriculture. Odusola highlighted that processing raw materials domestically could significantly boost job creation, wealth retention, and tax revenues.
“If Zimbabwe only benefits 10.5% from the lithium value chain by exporting raw materials, imagine the economic potential if we moved to battery cell production, which adds 32.5% in value,” Odusola noted.
In so far as Governance and Access to Justice, UNDP said it continues to support policy reforms, including gender equity policies, electoral processes, and disability-inclusive policies. The agency is also working with the government to improve access to justice, particularly for women and children.
To ensure effective implementation, UNDP committed to joint monitoring and evaluation missions involving government officials, civil society, development partners, and the media. Additionally, with global funding for development aid shrinking, the agency is working on mobilizing domestic resources to sustain Zimbabwe’s development agenda.
Odusola underscored the importance of sustainability, particularly for long-term projects like solar-powered health facilities and irrigation systems. “We count on the media to help us navigate how best to sustain these facilities and ensure community resilience,” he said.
The High-Level Programme Board meeting concluded with a renewed focus on strategic partnerships and resource mobilization to drive Zimbabwe’s economic and social transformation in 2025 and beyond, stakeholders said.
The meeting also addressed the impact of USAID funding cuts and deliberated on sustainability measures to ensure continued development progress. UNDP emphasized the need for domestic resource mobilization and strategic partnerships to mitigate funding shortfalls and sustain critical development programs.