In order to strengthen cooperation between the government of Somalia, the UN, and external partners in support of the nation’s development priorities and the accomplishment of the Sustainable Development Goals, Somalia and the UN have established a multi-donor trust fund. The UN said in a statement released Wednesday night that the Somalia Joint Fund, formerly known as the Somalia Multi-Partner Trust Fund, is one of the largest country-level development funds globally with contributions totaling more than 500 million dollars since 2014.
The Somalia Joint Fund is one example of a country-level pooled fund that Adam Abdelmoula, the UN resident and humanitarian coordinator for Somalia, said is essential for the UN to be able to better support the development aspirations of the countries in question.
“The Somalia Joint Fund will provide the necessary flexibility to respond to complex challenges facing Somalia and to maximize synergies across the UN system through joint action,” Abdelmoula said.
According to him, the fund, which was established in Somalia’s capital city of Mogadishu, would also act as a forum for direct and forthright communication between Somalia and its foreign allies, with the government serving as the mediator.
The UN Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office in New York, which oversees the Somalia Joint Fund, aims to raise $60 million per year over the next three years to assist the most important and strategic initiatives in Somalia through seven financing periods.
The fund, according to Mohamud Abdirahman Beenebeene, minister of Planning, Investment, and Economic Development, gives the government a way to guarantee that international priorities are in line with national priorities, increase national ownership of international development assistance, and prioritize and coordinate the use of resources for the greatest good.
