UN projects will help rebuild lives

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Somalia last week launched three new initiatives which will do much to help Somalis rebuild their economy, society and livelihoods, according to a UNDP statement issued in New York on Monday. The three projects were the Poverty Reduction and Economic Recovery Programme, the Capacity Building for Governance Programme, and a joint initiative with UNHCR for reintegration of returnees and internally displaced people, said the statement. The poverty reduction programme will help vulnerable populations generate income from agriculture and livestock, offer job skills training and set up micro-credit projects. The programme will also help communities design development plans, while providing advice to authorities on ways of improving economic planning and policies to aimed at helping the poor. The capacity building programme will support the approach that governance is a shared responsibility among authorities, the private sector and civil society. It will support public administration and Somali representatives, strengthen access to information technologies and cooperate with civil society organisations, according to the statement. The reintegration programme is part of a subregional initiative launched by UNDP, the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development and UNHCR. It aims to provide returnees with basic social services such as water, education, health care and shelter. The programme would also help create social and economic opportunities for returnees and their communities, said the statement. It quotes UNDP Resident Representative Randolph Kent as saying: “These programmes taken together show what our mission in Somalia is all about.”