The preparation of this Common Country Assessment (CCA) for Namibia is a key step in the process of reforms initiated by the UN Secretary General to create a stronger, more focused and more effective United Nations development assistance programme in the country. Although the various agencies comprising the UN System in Namibia serve specific purposes in accordance with their specialised backgrounds and distinct orientations, we are all united in the overall goal of promoting sustainable human development for all Namibians. By establishing a common understanding of the development situation in Namibia, the entire UN System has created a platform for a coordinated and unified approach in our collaboration with the Government and people of Namibia towards the national Vision 2030 and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
This CCA and the preceding progress report on the MDGs was prepared jointly by the Government of Namibia, the UN team, civil society organizations and other development partners through a process of consultation, research and debate. No less than seven thematic groups worked on the human rights based analysis underpinning the CCA with support from national and international experts. I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank all those involved in the process, including our regional UN colleagues who provided extensive comments to the first draft analysis. I would in particular like to thank NPCS and UNICEF for leading us all through the CCA process.
The resulting analysis is a mix between a sense of significant achievement and deep concern. Indeed much progress has been made in the first decade and a half after Independence especially in the areas of health and education. However, as the CCA shows the country is facing a deep crisis as a result of the combined effects of the scourge of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, food insecurity and poverty, and weakening capacities to respond and manage the crisis and development challenges. The next UN Development Assistance framework will be built around a series of joint and partnership driven programmes among the UN agencies to effectively support the Government and its partner in turning the tide against the HIV/AIDS epidemic and the threats it poses.
The UN in Namibia has stood by the country and its people through its most difficult times and we have shared in the celebration during the most glorious moments at the dawn of Independence. We continue to stand by the Namibian people to face these new threats to the nation’s future and to turn the challenge of HIV/AIDS into an opportunity for a brighter future.