Samoa, Cook Islands, Niue and Tokelau

Brief Description

The Joint Programme will build on developing financing strategies and operationalizing the Integrated National Financing Framework (INFFs) for Cook Islands, Niue and Samoa to provide these countries with opportunities to improve the management of financial flows and mobilize new, diverse and catalytic financial instruments to accelerate progress of the Agenda 2030. The development of a viable development finance strategy and architecture, aligned with the national development priorities and the SDGs through the INFF, will increase efficiency and effectiveness of all investments in the acceleration of SDG attainment through public, private, blended, international and/or regional vertical instruments in Cook Islands, Niue and Samoa.

Approach

Aligning annual budgets and SDG-related expenditure with medium term revenue strategies and expenditure frameworks, and deepening engagement between policy makers and private sector within the planning process through the INFF will lead to the availability of new development finance and increased reach and impact of SDG investments. This will cause a virtuous spiral, whereby success draws increased investment of resources into human wellbeing and capabilities, which further underpins the social contract and accelerates sustainable development. At the end of the joint programme, gender responsive financing strategies will be developed.

The programme brief description

Samoa, Cook Islands, Niue and Tokelau are among the most fragile Small Island Developing States due to their geography, size of the economy and exposure to climate change and extreme weather events. In the absence of economic opportunities, the quality of life for many of the persons living in these countries has deteriorated with incidence of NCDs, alcohol abuse and domestic violence rising at a high pace. This Joint Programme aims at increasing resilience through viable and financially sustainable social protection systems that will address life cycle vulnerabilities, strengthen social protection floors and enhance employability while also ensuring consistency with other programmes implemented by the UN Country Team (UNCT) to secure access to basic services, strengthen institutional responsiveness and improve disaster risk management.

Approach

To ensure the Social Protection Floors will address the most vulnerable, stakeholders consulted in the formulation of the Joint Programme recommended a people centered, equity focused and climate resilient approach.The Joint Programme will also address data gaps in poverty and vulnerability by taking a multi-dimensional approach and using traditional and non-traditional data sources to identify people at risk of being left behind.

Target groups

Women and girls, carers and persons living with disabilities and unemployed, especially youth.