23 June 2022, Geneva, Switzerland. The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) and Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) launched a new initiative to support climate-resilient livelihood development in Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe during the bilateral meeting in Geneva between the BADEA Director General Mr. Sidi Ould Tah and UNITAR's Executive Director Mr. Nikhil Seth.

This new initiative will focus on women and youth from the three Sub-Saharan African countries, who currently share similar challenges in advancing sustainable and climate resilient livelihood value chains.

The initiative is part of the urgent action taken by UNITAR and BADEA to support Africa’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and the current energy crisis that have brought devastating social and economic impacts on vulnerable communities as governments endeavor to find the most effective responses to rising unemployment, food insecurity, and economic downturn. 

BADEA supports priority needs of the governments in the region across different sectors with special focus on agriculture and boosting livelihood opportunities through SME development. The overall objective is to inspire and empower women and youth to address key social, economic, and environmental challenges in their communities through climate resilient livelihood and entrepreneurship programmes.
 

Recognizing that women and youth especially from Least Developed Countries and in marginalized communities face specific barriers towards participation in all sectors of society, UNITAR has invested in the design of learning solutions that take into account and address these barriers. Over the years, UNITAR has acquired unique expertise and experience in designing and delivering a variety of training activities and has become a leading institute in the provision of customized and creative learning solutions to institutions and individuals from both public and private sectors.

UNITAR works with an agency-based empowerment approach towards participation that starts with supporting the individual in recognizing their own worth and potential, before turning to the skills, knowledge and attitudes needed for the participants to strive.

To deliver this new initiative, UNITAR will be collaborating with the National Economic Empowerment Council (NEEC) in Tanzania, the Conservation Farming Unit in Zambia, and the Ministry of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises in Zimbabwe.