CM, UNRC discuss collaboration to meet climate change challenges

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and a delegation of the United Nations in Pakistan, led by its Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator (UNRC) Mohamed Yahya, discussed ongoing and future collaboration and support between the provincial government and the UN to meet the challenges of climate change in their meeting at the CM House on Friday.

Officials said that the UN coordinator acknowledged the contributions of the Sindh government in providing an enabling environment to UN agencies and their partners for carrying out interventions in the province by the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework, which is an agreement between the UN in Pakistan and the government to work on key areas aligned with the country’s development.

The CM said the Sindh government has recently notified a Provincial Steering Committee to oversee and guide the implementation of the framework at the provincial level. The UN in Pakistan has allocated $4.7 billion, as well as its expertise and resources, to work in five key priority areas -- basic social services, climate change and environment, gender equality and women’s empowerment, inclusive economic growth, and governance.

The CM and the UN coordinator discussed the long-term strategic visioning and proper implementation of the Sindh Comprehensive Growth Strategy and Poverty Reduction Strategy. The UN has a significant presence in Sindh with interventions encompassing health, education, livelihoods, poverty alleviation, nutrition, enterprise development and climate-resilient agriculture and water management, Shah said.

Yahya expressed his appreciation for the housing project for flood-affected people. He mentioned that he had visited the houses constructed in Sujawal and emphasized the need for donor agencies to provide more facilities for the inmates of flood-resilient houses.