The United Nations in Botswana hosted its 2nd Annual Development Partners Forum in Gaborone on 25 – 26 October 2023 in Gaborone, Botswana. Through convening varied development partners, the Forum brings a wide range of voices and opinions to the table, and foster partnerships for development. The Forum provides an important platform for development partners to explore ways to partner with the Government of Botswana on emerging issues, development plans and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This is in recognition that only with multi-partner and multi-lateral cooperation can we find a viable pathway to a more prosperous, equitable, healthy, and secure country and planet. Held under the theme, "The Upper Middle-Income Country (UMIC) Paradox - Botswana's progress towards achieving Sustainable Development Goals", participants discussed progress and challenges on the country’s development endeavours, including how partnership could lead to meaningfully addressing the development challenges. Opening the event, the UN Resident Coordinator, Zia Choudhury acknowledged the diversity of participants and highlighted that it offers collective wisdom to find new solutions. “14.      This Development Partner Forum is designed for diverse people to meet. To discuss. To be Bold in those discussions. To form partnerships. To be stronger together”, he said. Delivering remarks on behalf of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Director of Multilateral Affairs in the Ministry echoed that the Development partners forum is a great platform which brings together different stakeholders under one roof with the sole aim of seeking pragmatic solutions to our current development challenges. He added that Botswana as a Middle-Income country continues to face long standing development challenges such as, poverty, social and economic inequality, high unemployment, food insecurity, as well as the slow progress on the environment and climate change front. New challenges have also emerged such as high inflation and the socio-economic impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. “Botswana works closely with the United Nations Country Team to support the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and Vision 2036 through the Botswana-United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework. This allows for greater engagements and collaboration by key stakeholders on a diverse range of both current and emerging developmental issues thereby promoting coherence in National Development Planning”, Ambassador Zenene Sinombe stated. The 2nd Annual DPF 2023 included parallel deep dive discussions on; i) How can Botswana’s social protection systems prevent the worse effects of poverty? Are the systems shock responsive enough to mitigate the effects of climate change? ii) How to maximize the diamond value chain for the benefit of Botswana. iii) A Botswana founded on human rights for all: Stocktaking, visioning and a roadmap. iv) Improving migration governance to help Botswana prosper and protect human rights for all. The Forum came as the world marks the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The UDHR is a foundational blueprint for taking concrete actions to stand up for human rights and tackle pressing global issues today. Human rights are the foundation for human dignity, and the cornerstone of peaceful, inclusive, fair, equal and prosperous societies.   Also in 2023, world leaders have reviewed the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) during the United Nations General Assembly high-level week in September 2023. This marked the midpoint of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and calls for the beginning of a new phase of accelerated progress towards the SDGs. Achieving the SDG’s and the 2030 Agenda in Botswana will require a significant shift in how development is approached. This is in line with the President’s reset agenda and calls for mindset change.   Development Partners Forum in Pics

The United Nations Office in Botswana convened various consultations during which youth, people with disabilities and various other groups offered inputs on what the country needs to do to fast track the implementation of the SDGs. The consultations came ahead of the 2023 SDG Summit and sought public opinion on how to accelerate attainment of the SDGs in Botswana. The 2023 SDG Summit will be convened on 18-19 September 2023 in New York, during the United Nations General Assembly high-level week. The Summit seeks to assess the progress made in implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable development and its 17 SDGs. Only seven years remain until 2030 and this year is the halfway mark in the race towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. Progress is indeed off-track, as the world grapples with reversing development progress due to climate change, conflicts, the direct health effects and indirect social and economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The SDG Summit, therefore, comes at an opportune time to reflect and review progress made thus far, with the imminent reality that the promise of achieving Agenda 2030 is at stake. The UN held stakeholder consultations with government, youth and young people, people with disabilities to gather public opinion on what Botswana needs to do to fast track the implementation of the SDGs, identify high impact initiatives that can lead to tangible change, and to discuss key commitments which the country can present at the Summit. Over 200 young people and youth were reached through the consultations. UN Resident Coordinator in Botswana, Mr. Zia Choudhury noted that the world is severely off track to achieve the SDGs by 2030 not moving forward. The SDGs were adopted in 2015. Since then, significant progress has been made in poverty eradication and combating unemployment. But Covid-19 hit the world, the geopolitical challenges and climate disasters. “The SDG Summit will aim to put the SDGs back on course. These dialogues provide an opportunity for government, civil society, major groups, and other stakeholders to share concrete suggestions on how to get the SDGs back on track for everyone, everywhere, all at once,” Choudhury said. The consultations suggested that the UN work with them and others to implement solutions such as: Inclusive participation - need to give disadvantaged groups - including women and girls - a seat at the table. We know that for any policy to generate change, participation is a must to ensure that the lived experiences and recommendations of affected communities are heard. Young people need to be invited to the decision-making table, where they can contribute valuable insights and innovations. Building a human rights economy - recognize that economic growth on its own will not redress structural injustices or fulfil people’s human rights. Our economies must deliver better results for people and our planet. Economic decisions, such as public budgets and investment choices, should aim to redress barriers to equality and be guided by human rights norms and standards. Promoting sustainable environmental management and benefit from natural resources Improve oversight bodies and hold leaders accountable. Adhere to and respect human rights – raising awareness about human rights. Working with the government to improve access and rights for people with disabilities and linking them with social protection tools. Take bold ACTION for people and planet – climate action. Make funding available for SDG actions. Reduce inequalities by providing equal opportunity for all. Increase access for young people and improve activism - young people also have the power to act and mobilise others. Youth activism is on the rise the world over, bolstered by broader connectivity and access to social media. The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called on Member states to put forward national commitments speaking to SDG Acceleration at the Summit, as well as concrete actions to ensure an enabling environment for developing countries to participate in activities in the global economy and benefit from green and digital technologies, and the identification of transformative high impact initiatives.

FAO and its partners have called for Botswana to increase its agricultural productivity by fostering sustained agricultural surpluses and integrating the agricultural sector into the domestic and global economy. This came during the Joint Sector Review held by the Ministry of Agriculture, in collaboration with the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Secretariat and the Food and Agriculture Organization through the European Union-funded project, Support Towards the Operationalization of the SADC Regional Agricultural Policy (STOSAR), to evaluate the performance of the agricultural sector and fostering mutual accountability among stakeholders. The Need for Increased Agricultural Productivity The JSR's comprehensive findings highlighted the pressing need for Botswana to increase its agricultural productivity. By so doing, the nation could achieve the transformation necessary for attaining food security and creating employment opportunities for its citizens. The report emphasized that agricultural productivity plays a pivotal role in elevating the sector's overall performance and positively impacting the economy. By engaging stakeholders, fostering mutual accountability, and heeding the recommendations outlined in the review report, Botswana is primed to achieve its ambitious agricultural development goals to unlock its agricultural potential. The key findings of the JSR review that was carried out by Dr Howard Sigwele emphasized the need for a collaborative approach towards increasing agricultural productivity, fostering sustained agricultural surpluses, and integrating the agricultural sector into the domestic and global economy to achieve agricultural transformation in Botswana. Speaking at the JSR validation workshop held in Gaborone recently, Honourable Fidelis Molao, Botswana's Minister of Agriculture, commended the JSR process and its outcomes. Honourable Molao said, “The Joint Sector Review is a critical step towards evidence-based planning, and implementation and advocates for greater participation and inclusiveness in terms of planning, designing and implementation of agricultural projects and programmes.” The Minister also underscored the JSR's significance in realizing Botswana's commitments under the Malabo Declaration, which aims to achieve food security, foster agricultural transformation, and generate employment opportunities. Also speaking at the JSR validation workshop, Mr Duncan Samikwa, a Senior Programme Officer in the Directorate of Food Agriculture and Natural Resources (FANR) in the SADC Secretariat emphasized the significance of JSRs in holding stakeholders accountable for their commitments under various cooperation agreements that include the African Union’s Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP). He said, “the JSR serves as a valuable tool to assess the effectiveness of national agriculture policies and institutions and measure the realization of their intended results and outcomes.” The objectives of the JSR were to identify capacity weaknesses, enhance mutual accountability, and develop strategic action plans to drive agricultural growth and development. This critical initiative has set the stage for evidence-based planning and decision-making, propelling Botswana's agriculture towards a transformational path. The workshop brought together stakeholders from the private sector, farmers’ associations, State-Owned Organizations, and local development organizations to assess the sector's performance and gather their input for policy design and formulation.

Botswana has established its first public radiotherapy centre – an important step in providing accessible health services for its people – with the help of the IAEA and assistance through the IAEA’s Rays of Hope initiative. “The radiotherapy centre is the first of its kind in Botswana. It will help address challenges in cancer treatment in the country and the region and reduce government spending in health care for cancer patients, while minimizing patient waiting time and improving health outcomes,” said Edwin Dikoloti, Botswana’s Minister of Health. Dikoloti officially opened the centre, which is in the Sir Ketumile Masire Teaching Hospital in Gaborone, on 27 July 2023. “This centre will serve patients from the region like those from Zambia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Mozambique and others from the rest of the world. It is only in Botswana that such technology is availed to both the private and public health care sectors, as well as for teaching and research purposes,” he added. IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi, together with President Macky Sall of Senegal, launched the Rays of Hope initiative in 2022. “The opening of Botswana’s first public radiotherapy centre exemplifies what we can achieve through Rays of Hope,” Director General Grossi said. “This life-saving centre is a milestone in our mission to improve global equity in access to cancer treatment.” Rays of Hope aims to close the cancer treatment gap in low- and middle-income countries by improving the availability of radiotherapy services, medical imaging and nuclear medicine. The IAEA has six decades of experience in helping countries fight cancer. Through Rays of Hope, the IAEA supports national efforts to mobilize resources and to develop partnerships that will promote safe, sustainable and equitable cancer treatment for all. Around the world, cancer is placing a heavy burden on human health and on national health services. In 2020, there were more than 19 million new cases of cancer and 10 million deaths globally. These figures are expected to grow over the next two decades. In Botswana, around 2800 new cases of cancer are expected to be diagnosed each year by 2030. Botswana and the IAEA The treatment room at the new radiotherapy centre at the Sir Ketumile Masire Teaching Hospital (SKMTH) in Gaborone will be key to Botswana’s efforts to combat cancer. (Photo: SKMTH) Since becoming an IAEA Member State in 2002, Botswana has progressed in the peaceful, safe and secure use of nuclear technology in various areas, including radiotherapy. Five national IAEA technical cooperation projects have been carried out to support the establishment of the new radiotherapy centre. Building on previous support received from the IAEA, Botswana joined the Rays of Hope initiative last year. “Botswana’s short- to medium- term needs were analysed, and high impact, cost effective and sustainable actions have been prioritized, focusing on human resources, procurement, and safety and security support,” said Hua Liu, Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Technical Cooperation at the IAEA. Tumisang Healy, the local Member of Parliament, along with high-level officials and representatives from local authorities, attended the opening of the new radiotherapy centre. IAEA support has focused on human resource capacity building – in particular long-term training for personnel to operate the centre, including radiation oncologists, medical physicists, oncology nurses and radiotherapy technologists. In addition, IAEA expert services have helped Botswana to develop bunkers (shielded rooms) to house treatment equipment in line with approved international radiation safety standards. The IAEA has assisted in the development of specifications for the procurement of equipment, and in commissioning and acceptance testing. Together with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the IAEA is providing support for the development of Botswana’s first National Cancer Control Programme. The draft programme is expected to be completed in October 2023.