ZIMBABWE: UNITED NATIONS/12/7/18 SABANews 1
BULAWAYO – Heads of FOUR agencies of the UN have this week descended on the North-western ZIMBABWE province of MATABELELAND NORTH to take stock of development work progress.
They are UNICEF Representative MOHAMED AG AYOYA, IOM Chief of Mission LILY SANYA, WFP Country Director EDDIE ROWE, and UNDP Country Director GEORGES VAN MONTFORT, led by UN Resident Representative BISHOW PARAJULI.
UN Communications Specialist SIRAK GEBREHIWOT has issued a statement saying the group has been in the region for THREE days, from NINE to 11 JULY.
He says the team visited UNITED BULAWAYO Hospital in the commercial capital, where UNDP has supported major health schemes through the Global Fund.
The projects include building and fitting pharmacy cold chain facilities at TSHABALALA Clinic, an incinerator at the NATPHARM Warehouse, and 11 solar installations at clinics in BULAWAYO City under the solar for health initiative.
UNITED BULAWAYO Hospital is a high-volume anti-retroviral site, with about FIVE-THOUSAND patients on treatment getting support through the Global Fund and other donors.
UNDP Country Director VAN MONTFORT has expressed satisfaction with the pharmacy warehouse, saying the work helps improve health services at the referral hospital, including intensifying the ongoing efforts of combating HIV and AIDS.
The world body says HIV prevalence has decreased by 24 percent over the last decade in ZIMBABWE, which is on course to achieve the global 90:90:90 targets by 2020.
It says currently, 74 percent of people living with HIV know their status, 87 percent of those who know their status receive treatment and 87 percent of those on treatment have their viral load suppressed: which is 74:87:87.
Mr GEBREHIWOT says the UN team has visited NTABAZINDUNA to inspect a human rights outreach clinic organized to provide information, counselling, and legal aid.
He says the Embassy of SWEDEN and the EUROPEAN UNION are supporting the scheme, which also provides protection services to the vulnerable and people at risk in ZIMBABWE.
IOM Chief of Mission LILY SANYA says the project brings together 10 civil society groups, their network of partners and local authorities to help improve dialogue and access to information on human rights and services to rural communities in remote areas.
In Ward 20 of LUBIMBI area in BINGA District, the WFP and its partners have supported the local community to construct the KAMOMBO Dip Tank; rescuing the community from walking 15 kilometres to the nearest facility like they used to do.
The construction of the dip tank has further ensured regular dipping, thus enhancing the quality of cattle that will fetch better prices on the market.
WFP Representative and Country Director EDDIE ROWE says the agency has a multi-year strategic framework that has helped improve disaster risk reduction in all its dimensions of exposure, vulnerability and hazard characteristics.
It has further supported communities in building back better in a sustainable manner to achieve ZERO hunger.
Meanwhile, UNICEF has worked with the community and government department to build classroom blocks and toilets, sink a borehole, and provide textbooks, benches, and ECD materials at DONGA Primary School.
The UN says DONGA Primary School, ONE of the satellite schools in the region getting help from the UK DFID, GERMANY, and the Global Partnership for education, has an enrolment of more than 200 students.
UNICEF Representative MOHAMED AG AYOYA says he is impressed by the energy and dedication of the teachers and parents.
However, the UN official says while there has been progress, a lot still to be done to ensure schools get proper facilities; and children have appropriate environment to learn qualitatively.
The THREE-day-long UN field visit to the north-western region follows a 28 JUNE high-level review of the 2016 to 2020 ZIMBABWE UN Development Assistance Framework, or ZUNDAF, at mid-point./Sabanews/cam
