UN Eswatini celebrates UN Day with editors

The United Nations Country Team (UNCT) in Eswatini, led by the Resident Coordinator, Ms. Nathalie Ndongo-Seh celebrated UN Day by hosting a breakfast roundtable meeting editors and senior journalists on the 24th of October. 

The purpose of the meeting was to introduce the UNCT and senior journalists to each other as a first step towards establishing professional and mutually beneficial relationships. The meeting was also used to launch the UN75 campaign which will run until December 2020 with dialogues and collaborations with different stakeholders on initiatives that will contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the Eswatini National Development Strategy and Vision 2022.

The UNCT also used the opportunity to update the media on key initiatives and developments supported by the UN in Eswatini, including the observance of the World Polio Day, World Food Day, the 30 year commemoration of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC@30), the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) 25th Anniversary and World AIDS Day.

The Resident Coordinator told the media that UN work in Eswatini is guided primarily by the UN Charter, 2030 Agenda of SDGS and national priorities as outlined in the National Development Strategy and Vision 2022 of His Majesty King Mswati III.

“Our interventions are guided by the UN Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) which has since been changed to the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) effective 2021 – 2025,” she said.

“The new Cooperation Framework will serve as a tool between government and the UN.  It is new in that it is pitched at a higher level of extensive collaborations with government, partners and donors. The UNDAF was focused on the UN and what they can do.”

Ndongo-Seh expressed appreciation that the UN enjoyed a good relationship with the media, noting good media coverage of UN supported initiatives. She also highlighted recent collaborations with the media which included organising the Walk the Talk campaign and hosting a training on journalism ethics and human rights reporting. “We are planning more capacity building initiatives to help the media play its role in accelerating the achievement of the SDGs,” she said.

The second phase of the UN Day celebrations included a community service activity on 25 October 2019 which was organised under the auspices of the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare to advocate and contribute to governments efforts to operationalise three vocational learning centres for children with disability. UN staff in collaboration with government, private sector, development partners and civil society gathered at Nhlangano Vocational and Training Centre, one of the three schools, to clean and repaint students dormitories as well as clear the yard and prepare a vegetable garden.