Online Reporter
Felistas Tavarera and Belinda Chikandiwa
Partnerships between Government, civil society and international organisations help amplify the voices of those affected by inequality, United Nations Resident Coordinator Enerst Mutanga has said.
The UN Country Team (UNCT) in Zimbabwe, he said, has been working closely with Government and civil society to support the integration of gender-responsive approaches in localising the SDGs as seen through the efforts of various UN agencies.
“This is to support gender-responsive planning and budgeting alignment of national policies with gender-responsive SDG targets and support to women’s rights organisations and gender equality and women’s empowerment (GEWE) CSOs to influence and contribute to local SDG implementation processes,” he said.
Mr Mutanga said the workshop brings UN’s accountability framework for gender equality and women’s empowerment and the UN-SWAP Gender Score-card.
The framework’s indicators 3.1 and 3.2, emphasise the importance of supporting efforts to align local policies with gender-responsive SDG targets and empower women’s rights organisations to contribute to local SDG implementation.
“With the persistent push back on gender equality and women’s empowerment, the UN continues to push forward through ingenuities such as the UN secretary general’s clarion call on gender equality and its gender equality acceleration plan (GEAP) to accelerate progress on gender equality in member states,” he said.
Ministry of Local Government Public Works and National Housing Permanent Secretary Dr John Basera said advancing gender equality through the localisation of the SDGs is critical.
“The Vision 2030 agenda for sustainable development is a global commitment, but its success depends on how we translate those global ambitions into local actions. Localising the SDGs is not just about ensuring that we meet targets on paper it’s about making those targets relevant to the lives of women, girls and marginalised groups, particularly at the local level,” he said.
Dr Basera said Government had already taken significant steps to advance the SDGs through the devolution process, which empowers local authorities to make decisions that better reflect the needs and priorities of their communities.
“However, this work is far from completion. Gender inequalities persist at the national and local levels, limiting the opportunities and rights of women and girls across the country.
“This event today represents a critical moment for us to explore how we can localise gender-responsive SDG targets in a way that leaves no one behind.
“It’s about ensuring that our policies, our budgets, and our strategies not only reflect national priorities but also the specific needs of women and girls, including those in the most marginalised communities” he said.
“The Government of Zimbabwe is fully committed to advancing gender equality as a cornerstone of development agenda. This commitment is reinforced through efforts to integrate gender equality into all aspects of SDG localisation, particularly at the local Government level.”
