Through initiatives in villages and at the national policy level, UNDP supports government to address the economic exclusion of marginalized people; also, to stimulate better long-term livelihood opportunities and decent employment for all Cook Islanders, Niueans, Samoans and Tokelauans. The focus is on getting young people, women and those with disabilities involved in the economy.
All of these efforts ultimately target the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The Millennium Summit of September 2000 focused and committed the world to addressing the many dimensions of human development, including halving by 2015 the proportion of people living in extreme poverty. As part of this effort, developing countries are being urged to develop national poverty eradication strategies based on local needs and priorities. UNDP advocates for these nationally owned solutions, helping to make them effective by ensuring a greater voice for poor people, expanding access to productive assets and economic opportunities, and linking poverty programmes with countries’ international economic and financial policies. Specific assistance to private sector development in Samoa is being channeled through grants to SMEs as well as support to the development of an integrated trade system in the country. This is in tune with Samoa’s transition to Middle-Income Country status by the end of 2010.
Target Millennium Development Goal
MDG1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger