Among the key engagements was a meeting with Ms. Ahunna Eziakonwa, assistant secretary-general and director of the Regional Bureau for Africa at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), alongside Fatoumatta Mboge-Ba, special advisor to the director and team leader for West and Central Africa, and Sophie Conteh, desk officer.
Minister Kinteh expressed appreciation to the UNDP team and shared insights on lessons learned during the pushback to repeal the law prohibiting the practice of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) in The Gambia. The Minister highlighted the pivotal role of political will, led by His Excellency President Adama Barrow, in upholding the law. Under the government's leadership, a cabinet sub-committee was established to engage National Assembly Members across both the Majority and Minority Caucuses.
Discussions also focused on girls' education, particularly the transition from primary to university education, and the challenges of achieving gender parity at the primary level, and the high dropout rates among girls after secondary education. The development of the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and STEM programmes in The Gambia, supported by the World Bank, was highlighted as a positive step. Additionally, The Gambia has benefited from the UNIPOD Timbuktu Initiative's startup ecosystem, which recently concluded a readiness assessment.
Ms. Eziakonwa shared that UNDP was mobilising US$1 billion in partnership with the MasterCard Foundation to support an innovation initiative titled: ‘From Here to Africa's Future’. The Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) will be leveraged to create a unified market through commercial and catalytic funding, along with de-risking measures. The programme has established 10 tech hubs across Africa, each focusing on distinct themes: Fintech in Lagos, AgriTech in Accra, Mine Tech in Lusaka, Smart Cities/Mobility in Casablanca, Creative Tech in Cape Town, Health Tech in Rwanda, Green Tech in Nairobi, EduTech and ManuTech in Addis Ababa, and Trade/Logistics and E-Commerce in Cairo. The initiative's ambitious "moonshot" goal is to achieve US$1 billion in investment, support 10,000 startups, scale 1,000 startups, impact 100 million livelihoods, and create US$10 billion in value over the next decade.
AfCFTA will also work to address challenges faced by women in cross-border trade, creating a framework for trade facilitation and connecting with the Women Enterprise Fund. The Minister emphasised the importance of linking academia with business to train women and equip them with machinery to produce packaging materials, fostering greater economic empowerment.
Recognising The Gambia's potential in human capital, the blue economy, and its peaceful transition to sustained peace, the Honourable Minister welcomed the idea of hosting the UNDP Global Governance Forum as part of The Gambia's journey toward becoming a centre of excellence in transitional justice.
On the renewal of the Women Leadership Project, the Ministry committed to continuing efforts to build the capacity of women political aspirants and to engage political parties to advocate for gender quotas.
Additionally, The Gambia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Mr. Lamin Dibba, highlighted efforts on Integrated National Financing Frameworks (INFF), Domestic Resource Mobilization (DRM), and the NEMA facility's support for off-grid communities. He noted that these initiatives align with The Gambia Energy Road Map.
Mr. Dibba also acknowledged the importance of constitutional building processes and underscored the need for domestic resource mobilisation, crowd funding, and leveraging Diaspora remittances in light of funding withdrawals by the United States Government.
Lastly, it was noted that the Africa Mini Grid Programme (AMP) will be launched in 2025, with The Gambia among the 21 participating countries.
Mr. Alieu Njie, Secretary-General and Secretary to the Cabinet accompanied the Honorable Minister, H.E. Permanent Representative Mr. Lamin B. Dibba; and Mr. Kajali Sonko, Deputy Permanent Secretary-Technical.
Sarjo M. Camara, Communications Officer, Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Welfare, reporting from New York.
