Samoans benefit from project

24 January 2019, 12:00AM

Story and photos: UNDP and UNWomen 


More Samoan citizens living in rural, maritime or remote communities will soon have better access to government services. 

Rights, Empowerment and Cohesion (REACH) mobile service delivery model, successfully strengthened people’s access to justice and service in Fiji, has now been redesigned and launched in Samoa. 

Led by the Government of Samoa with support from UN Women and UNDP, the #SamoaREACH initiative aims to contribute to achieving SDG 5: Gender Equality and SDG16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions.

The programme was launched in Samoa on Monday.

It was convened by Samoa’s Ministry of Women, Community and Social Development and the Ministry of Justice and Courts Administration, inviting Fijian counterpart, Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation, Dr. Josefa Koroivueta, to join the event and help design a Samoan version of the mobile service delivery model.

Minister of Justice and Courts Administration, Faaolesa Katopau Ainu’u, said the programme is extremely important. 

“We are committed to ensuring people in remote and maritime communities have access to justice and services,” he said. 

“It is important that victims and people who face difficulty in accessing government services are prioritized in our service provision.”

“Through the REACH mobile service delivery model, we aim to address the challenges including remoteness and geographic isolation, increase knowledge and awareness among citizens on their rights, and make the government services more accessible to them.”

The launch event was held at the Ministry of Justice and Courts Administration.

It was followed by a three-day training workshop ending 25 January, provided by UN Women, UNDP and the Fiji REACH team member to ensure integration of gender equality in all aspects of design, delivery and transfer of the REACH methodology including quantitative and qualitative data collection.

24 January 2019, 12:00AM
Samoa Observer

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