National UNDP Day Proclaimed to Mark 50 Years of Partnership with Jamaica

Governor General, His Excellency the Most Hon. Sir Patrick Allen, has officially proclaimed Monday, January 26, as ‘National UNDP Day’ to mark the 50th anniversary of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Multi-Country Office’s service to Jamaica.

The Proclamation designates 2026 as a year to highlight Jamaica’s challenges and opportunities for sustainable, inclusive development, with emphasis on cooperation and partnerships.

Marking this milestone, the UNDP’s Multi-Country Office has launched a yearlong celebration under the theme “A Legacy of Resilience: 50 Years and Counting”, featuring events with national partners to highlight achievements and reaffirm commitments to Jamaica’s development agenda.

UNDP Resident Representative, Dr. Kishan Khoday, told JIS News that the proclamation of UNDP Day “symbolises the long-standing partnership between the UNDP and the Government and people of Jamaica in advancing the nation’s development pathways”.

He noted that over the past 50 years, Jamaica has made significant progress in key areas of national development.

“One being the path of poverty reduction. There’s been tremendous gains in going from high levels of extreme poverty… and, over the last 50 years, progressively combatting poverty, inequality, and addressing various elements of the broader multi-dimensional poverty agenda. Poverty reduction is the first big achievement in this partnership,” Dr. Khoday said.

He identified environmental sustainability as the second pillar of the UNDP’s partnership with Jamaica.

“From basic support on capacity development for natural resource management, access to water in the early parts of our partnership in the 1970s onwards, towards more focus on climate change, the resilience of ecosystems, coastal and mountain ecosystems,” Dr. Khoday said.

“Third, is our work over the years on governance, enhancing systems of policymaking and decision-making. Access to justice, from support for setting up key institutions, public institutions in the 1970s and 1980s, towards supporting specific achievements such as digital governance, effectiveness, and other priorities over the years,” he added.

Dr. Khoday noted that the proclamation of National UNDP Day also celebrates the contributions of community partners across the island.

“[Civil society organisations in] communities have made big achievements over the years on those pillars of poverty reduction, environmental sustainability, and governance. This is really in recognition of their achievements. But also, as we mark National UNDP Day, it’s really about looking to the future. It’s really about charting the course towards 2030… re-energising the partnership to help Jamaica achieve its goals,” he stated.

Dr. Khoday added that National UNDP Day serves as a reminder that Jamaica’s development agenda remains critical in today’s world.

“It’s gone through periods of tremendous change over 50 years. But there are also serious risks before us today, given the last few years of crises, globally and locally. This is something that’s important to re-energise… to refocus on priorities together,” he said.

Dr. Khoday emphasised that reducing poverty and inequality, along with preparing for more frequent and severe climate-induced disasters, remains high on the UNDP’s agenda moving forward.

“[Also] more aggressive action together on climate change, expanding access to finance for Jamaica on things like climate adaptation, loss and damage from disasters, restoring critical ecosystems that have been damaged and degraded over the years,” he said.

“Thirdly… modernising and looking ahead on the governance agenda through things like digitisation and harnessing the power of new technologies and systems, to be able to best embrace that multidimensional complexity that’s out there,” Dr. Khoday added.