The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has unveiled a new five-year programme developed for Jamaica pegged on a multi-dimensional poverty reduction strategy.

Priority areas for the 2022 to 2026 cycle will include social resilience and inclusion, citizen safety and security and the rule of law, climate change resilience, and sustainable natural resource management. The programme, which was provided through the UNDP Multi-Country Office, was officially launched earlier this week at the AC Hotel by Marriott in Kingston.

Components of this programme will be rolled out in The Bahamas, Bermuda, Turks and Caicos Islands and the Cayman Islands. Speaking at the launch, Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Minister, Senator Kamina Johnson Smith acknowledged that the new country 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 under the programme

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 noting that the Planning Institute of Jamaica collaborated on the programme’s development.

“We, therefore, welcome the commitment that the UNDP has shown to consultation with policymakers, 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,” the minister explained.

Johnson Smith articulated further that, “[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.”

For her part, UNDP local Resident Representative, Denise Antonio, who also spoke highlighted that her organisation offers a “uniquely tailored approach” to help reduce multidimensional poverty.

She pointed to the UNDP’s Human Development Report, which noted that “90 per cent of countries reported a decline in the Human Development Index score for 2020 or 2021”.

According to her, “we (UNDP) aim to leave no one behind. While this may seem very ambitious, we are confident that with the collective partnership of governments, international donor partners, civil society, private sector and citizens, together we can.”

Barbara Scott, deputy director-general for the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), commended the UNDP for its development of an electronic data management information system to track assistance provided during crises.

Jamaica was the second country, after The Bahamas, to sign the agreement establishing the UNDP on the island on January 26, 1976. The UNDP operates in 170 countries with a mission to eradicate poverty, reduce inequality and build resilience to achieve Sustainable Development Goals.