The United Nations has recommended that Cabo Verde strengthen its national capacities to implement development initiatives, identifying this as the central priority for the next cooperation framework with the country, according to information from Lusa.
“Strengthening national capacities for the implementation of initiatives with the United Nations is a pressing need and should be the main recommendation in designing the next cooperation framework,” states the UN’s 2025 Annual Results Report for Cabo Verde.
The recommendation comes against a backdrop of global economic shocks, rising food prices, the effects of Tropical Storm Erin, and Cabo Verde’s recent reclassification as an upper-middle-income country — a status that reduces the archipelago’s access to concessional financing.
In response to this context, the UN states that it has adjusted its approach in the country, moving away from an assistance-centred model towards a strategy focused on investment, innovative partnerships, South-South cooperation, and greater private sector engagement.
For 2026, the United Nations System has identified local development, the blue economy, and digital transformation as priority areas, while maintaining the eradication of extreme poverty among its principal objectives.
In the area of local development, the organisation intends to support greater coordination across different levels of governance, with a focus on strengthening municipal governance, economic inclusion, community resilience, planning, and the use of data systems.
The UN also plans to support improvements in local service delivery and the creation of economic opportunities, particularly for young people and workers in the informal sector.
In the blue economy, the intervention will centre on promoting sustainable growth, job creation, and strengthening capacity to respond to climate change.
Planned measures include the sustainable transformation of the fisheries sector, improvements in processing and access to regional markets, as well as the strengthening of data systems and quality control mechanisms.
The organisation also intends to support infrastructure linked to the blue economy, coastal protection, marine conservation, the circular economy, and stronger linkages between tourism and local production.
The report highlights advances in child protection, with civil registration coverage reaching 99%, as well as progress in justice modernisation, maritime security, and the blue economy.
In the area of digital transformation, the UN intends to use technology as an instrument to accelerate development, through a joint digital programme focusing on sectors such as health, education, and governance.
The eradication of extreme poverty will also remain among the priorities. To that end, the creation of a mechanism called “Leave No One Behind” is planned to monitor poverty trends, alongside the expansion of municipal rapid-response funds.
The UN also plans to reinforce support to social protection institutions and concentrate its intervention on populations considered most vulnerable, including women, children, young people, and persons with disabilities.
The report warns that Cabo Verde’s new upper-middle-income status requires an adaptation of financing strategies. In this regard, the UN advocates an approach based on blended finance models and partnerships with development banks.
Among the main results achieved in 2025 with UN support, the report highlights the elimination of measles and rubella, the response to Tropical Storm Erin, the expansion of digital and inclusive learning, and the strengthening of social protection.
The Unique Social Registry reached 64% of the population, while support provided to 40 youth-led enterprises — 45% of which are led by women — contributed to the creation of 65 jobs.
In 2025, a total of US$16.8 million was mobilised, of which approximately US$14 million was executed.
In the same year, the United Nations cooperation framework with Cabo Verde for the 2023–27 period recorded an execution rate of 83.4%, described in the report as “the highest since the start” of the programme’s implementation.
Source: Diário Económico
Original article: https://www.diarioeconomico.co.mz/?p=537289
