On 28th August, the President of Zanzibar and Chairman of the Revolutionary Council, H.E. Dr. Ali Mohamed Shein, launched the Zanzibar Joint Programme (ZJP) – a development collaboration between the United Nations and the Government. The ZJP cuts across multiple areas of development from maternal and newborn health, the economic empowerment of women and youth, ending violence against women and children, and the coordination of the implementation of the Global Goals. With a budget of 77.06 Billion Tshs, equivalent to USD 33.8 million, the programme will be implemented in Unguja and Pemba (main islands of the Zanzibar Archipelago) from 2018-2021.

Speaking at the launch, President Shein reaffirmed his appreciation to the United Nations for its on-going support to improve the lives of women, men, and youth in Zanzibar and Tanzania. Officially launching the ZJP he said: “The Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar is looking forward to this partnership, which is also echoed in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and the Africa Union Agenda 2063. The programme will substantially reduce the high poverty levels in Zanzibar; curb violence against women and children; reduce gender disparities in socioeconomic opportunities; reduce levels of maternal and newborn deaths; as well as enhance institutional and human resource capacities in formulating informed policies and decisions.”

The ZJP has four thematic areas: Maternal and Newborn Health; Women’s Economic Empowerment through Seaweed Value Chain Development; Ending Violence Against Women and Children; and Capacity Building for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Coordination and Reporting. The nine UN agencies implementing the ZJP are the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), the International Labour Organization (ILO), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency (UNFPA), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), UN Women, and the World Health Organization (WHO).

Speaking at the launch, Mr. Alvaro Rodriguez, UN Resident Coordinator, said that the ZJP, developed in close consultation with the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar, is aligned with the government’s development priorities as well as the UN’s commitment to support Zanzibar’s aspirations of becoming a middle-income country. “We have been working very closely with the government in Zanzibar for many years now and we are happy to be finally launching the ZJP. Working together, the nine UN agencies implementing this programme will accelerate results in these four interrelated areas of development to improve the lives of the people of Zanzibar,” he said.

The ZJP builds upon and expands on existing development interventions by UN agencies working in Unguja and Pemba.

The event held at Abdul Wakil Hall was attended by Government officials and Heads and staff of UN Agencies. Other attendees included youth, sustainable development goal champions, and citizens of Unguja. The UN Resident Coordinator, on behalf of UN Agencies, presented President Shein with an award as a symbol of appreciation for his tireless development work on Zanzibar.

Note to Editors:

The Zanzibar Joint Programme (ZJP) is part of the United Nations Development Assistance Plan 2016-2021 (UNDAP II) in Tanzania. UNDAP II has four thematic areas; the ZJP falls under Democratic Governance, Human Rights and Gender Equality. While the ZJP is the UN’s flagship joint programme in Zanzibar, UN agencies are currently implementing over 250 development programmes in Unguja and Pemba in areas including water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), women’s political participation and combating deforestation.

On 27th August, government, UN officials, development partners and the media visited three ZJP related projects. The launch of the programme on the 28th August by the President, the field visits, and a media briefing on the ZJP and Development Reporting, which took place on August 21st, are all part of the formal launch of the ZJP

For more information, please contact:

Warren Bright
Communications Analyst
United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency (UNFPA)
Mobile: +255 764 434 445
Email:  bwarren@unfpa.org
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