Pemba field visit spotlights early Zanzibar Joint Programme results

The Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar, the United Nations and partners this week visited project sites in Pemba to see how the Zanzibar Joint Programme (ZJP) is beginning to deliver practical results for communities in northern Zanzibar.

Launched in 2025, the ZJP is a joint initiative of the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar and the United Nations, supported by a USD 3.5 million contribution from the Royal Norwegian Embassy through the Tanzania SDG Acceleration Fund. The programme focuses on four interconnected pillars: food systems transformation, climate adaptation, human capital strengthening, and efforts to end violence against women and children in Kaskazini Unguja and Kaskazini Pemba.

The field visit was joined by the UN Resident Coordinator, Ms. Susan Ngongi Namondo, senior Government officials, development partners and the Ambassador of Spain to Tanzania, Ms. Paloma Serra Robles, who visited sites in Micheweni and Wete to see how integrated support is translating into visible community-level results.

The visit began in Makangale, Micheweni, where the delegation joined women seaweed farmers for the handover of a boat, equipment, a solar-powered drying facility and a community storage facility. These investments are helping reduce post-harvest losses, improve product quality and strengthen opportunities for value addition in one of Zanzibar’s most important livelihood sectors.

Seaweed remains a major focus of the programme’s food systems pillar. Recent results include two modern seaweed storage facilities and two solar drying units, creating 16 tonnes of storage capacity and benefiting 57 farmers, 90 per cent of them women. Across the wider food systems pillar, the programme has also trained 158 seaweed and sea cucumber farmers in Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture, trained 471 farmers in climate-smart agriculture and banana production, and supported 26 farmer groups and four cooperatives to strengthen business management and market engagement.

The delegation then visited a care centre in Tumbe, where women and the wider community are accessing childcare, digital literacy, food processing skills and information on preventing and reporting violence. The centre is also supporting women to learn more efficient and sustainable briquette-making techniques that can save time on cooking and create products for sale. These efforts reflect the programme’s integrated approach to women’s empowerment, care systems and protection. Results to date include support to 15 women- and youth-led startups, benefiting 300 people, and training for 212 stakeholders to integrate gender-responsive care solutions into climate-resilient livelihoods.

At Kinyikani Health Facility, the delegation visited a rainwater harvesting system designed to improve water availability for health services in a context where freshwater resources are under growing pressure. Under the programme, 16 health facilities have been assessed for water demand, six climate-resilient rainwater harvesting systems have been constructed, and around 22,000 beneficiaries have been reached through climate-resilient WASH investments.

The final stop was Micheweni A Primary School, where students are being trained on what constitutes gender-based violence, the different forms it can take and how to report it. This forms part of broader programme efforts to strengthen prevention and protection systems for women and children. So far, community outreach involving faith leaders, traditional leaders and male engagement groups has reached 53,676 people, while school outreach in Pemba has directly engaged 635 people and indirectly reached 6,132 others.

Reflecting on the visit, UN Resident Coordinator Susan Ngongi Namondo said the field visit showed that the programme is delivering more than visible project outputs. “What we saw is not only project outputs, but also Government-led systems being strengthened — communities adopting climate-resilient livelihoods with clearer market linkages, women and local producers becoming more active economic agents, and local institutions increasingly able to coordinate, deliver and sustain interventions. This is the direction we must now accelerate,” she said. "We are grateful to the Royal Norwegian Embassy and all partners for their continued support," she added.

The field mission to Pemba showed that results are beginning to emerge not only through infrastructure and services, but also through stronger local systems, greater community participation and more opportunities for women and young people. By linking support across livelihoods, resilience, protection and local services in the same communities, the Zanzibar Joint Programme is helping turn integrated development into visible, practical change for people in Pemba and Unguja.