Samoa MCO

UNDP Samoa MCO

has achieved the Gold Gender Equality Seal Certification!

The UNDP Samoa Multi-Country Office (MCO) – covering Cook Islands, Niue, Samoa, and Tokelau – has established a reputation as a top-line development agency with an inclusive approach that enhances women’s empowerment and puts gender equality at the forefront of development solutions. Despite challenges experienced by Small Island Developing States, the MCO has successfully implemented gender-targeted and gender-transformative results across its portfolios.

"For Samoa, the journey continues as much work still remains to be done as we strive to ensure we are making a positive impact in the lives of the women, girls, men, boys and diverse groups and ensuring we do not leave anyone behind."

- Aliona Niculita, Resident Representative, UNDP Samoa Multi-Country Office

Some key achievements include:

Shifting social norms and structures that perpetuate gender inequality

UNDP Samoa trained 300 women on transformative leadership, leading to a domino-effect in changing gendered perceptions towards engagement of women in village council meetings.

Samoa leads the way in ending violence against women and children everywhere

Through the EU-UN Spotlight Initiative, UNDP Samoa and partners are preventing violence through evidence-based programmes that strengthen essential services for victims and survivors of domestic violence. Strong and transformative results included working with the National Human Rights Institution in implementing Village Family Safety Plans by introducing Village Bylaws and establishing Family Safety Committees to address family violence.

Working towards a Pacific where no one is left behind

UNDP Samoa made significant contributions to promote gender equality, including through the development of a gender and disability-responsive diagnostic tool. Designed to inform behavioral interventions that remove barriers to access to justice and political participation, this tool was benefited 130 women with disabilities.

UNDP Samoa people posing for picture on stairs

UNDP Samoa three people posing surrounded by clothes and plants

UNDP Samoa sitting in audience with man standing in the aisle

Select good practices and innovations in advancing gender equality:

The MCO has also done exceedingly well in meeting gender parity targets at all levels, with an overall distribution that includes more than 50% women in decision-making roles.

UNDP Samoa has a strong and diverse set of partnerships for gender equality work, from government, civil society, including women’s rights organizations, and the private sector, a testament of UNDP’s role in championing women’s empowerment through strategic partnerships.

In Samoa, UNDP was able to influence and mainstream gender in the energy and climate sectors, through the inclusion of gender responsive considerations in the implementation of national climate plans and climate investment plans.

The MCO has optimized its advocacy campaigns and created high levels of outreach and engagement throughout the year. Examples include the Fautasi o Toa Challenge, which was widely covered by the media and used not only as an opportunity to break gender barriers in sports, but also to address domestic violence in response to the spike experienced during COVID-19.

"Culture is very strong in Samoa and the Pacific. We have therefore used culture as the key space to question, challenge and reimagine gender roles and social norms, and used it as a vehicle to include everyone in the conversation and action to promote gender equality."

- Verena Linneweber, Deputy Resident Representative, UNDP Samoa Multi-Country Office