The Independent State of Samoa consists of two large islands and eight islets situated in the Central Pacific Ocean. The most populous and developed island, Upolu, is home to the administrative capital, Apia. Samoa is politically stable with strong sub-national leadership and social cohesion. The close proximity between islands assists with transport, communications, and service delivery.
Severty eight per cent of Samoans live in rural villages and maintain a subsistence or semi-subsistence communal lifestyle heavily influenced by the Fa’a Samoa (the Samoan Way), which includes matai (chiefs), aiga potopoto (extended family) and
church.143 Since gaining independence from New Zealand in 1962, Samoa has made consistent gains in gross national income and human assets, sufficient to meet the criteria for graduation from Least Developed Country status in 2014. Whilst Samoa is performing better than other Pacific Island nations on a number of indicators, intrinsic issues of vulnerability persist. Despite GDP growth and a significant reduction in food poverty, 18.8 per cent of Samoans live below the basic needs poverty line and inequality is rising.144
Samoa’s population of 193,000145 is increasing at 2.3 per cent per annum, effectively doubling with each generation. A high fertility is offset by very high levels of emigration, mostly by working age Samoans migrating to New Zealand, keeping the overall growth rate at 0.6 per cent.
Despite early progress, Samoa met only half of its MDGs (MDG 2 – Primary Education, MDG 4 – Child Mortality, MDG 7 – Environmental Sustainability and MDG 8 – Global Partnerships) while the remaining results were mixed. The Global Financial Crisis (2007-2009) and higher food and fuel prices (2008) impacted Samoa severely. These exogenous shocks were immediately followed by a destructive tsunami in 2009 and a severe tropical cyclone in 2012, causing a contraction in economic activity and significantly increasing public debt.
Samoa’s small island economy is reliant on ODA and remittances, has a large trade deficit and faces a moderate risk of debt stress.146 Approximately 60 per cent of the population work in the informal sector with little capacity for the formal economy to create jobs. Unemployment and underemployment remain critical development challenges for Samoa. Reconstruction expenditure has helped the economy to recover from the effects of Cyclone Evan (2012) and has led to job growth in rural areas. But the forthcoming closure of the auto wire harness manufacturing plant will have a negative impact on overall employment.147 Youth unemployment at 16.4 per cent reflects a mismatch of skills to labour market needs and lack of support to transition young people into the workforce.148
A third of Samoans are below 15 years of age. Gender parity has been achieved in primary school enrolments and literacy levels are high. Of concern are the lower enrolment and higher dropout rates of boys at the secondary level.149
In 2013, Samoa became the first Pacific nation to introduce a quota for women’s political representation. Legislation has also been introduced to protect against sexual harassment and gender discrimination in the workplace. However, women continue to face social and economic disadvantages.150 The unmet need for contraception (46 per cent) is the highest in the region. Forty-six per cent of women report some form of partner abuse.151
NCDs are at epidemic levels. Occasional outbreaks of infectious disease are attributed to lack of hygiene, poor sanitation, and poor social conditions.152 The continuous increase in STI cases, particularly Chlamydia, has implications for the future spread of HIV.153
Treaty Ratifications: ICCPR, CEDAW, CRC, CRPD, CED, OP-CRC-CP, IP-CRC-AC, OP-CRC-SC, IPWD, CCPWCNH, CWII, ICADS, CSICH, CPPDCE
Resident and Non-resident Agencies: FAO, IFAD, ILO, OHCHR, UNAIDS, UNCDF, UNDP, UN Environment, UNESCO, UNFPA, UNICEF, UNISDR, UN Women, WHO, WMO
Coordination: Samoa, Office of the UN Resident Coordinator
Strategy for Development of Samoa 2016-2020 “Boosting Productivity for Sustainable Development”
- 143Situation Analysis Samoa UNICEF, 2006.
- 144SAMOA, Hardship and Poverty Report 2013-2014
- 145Population Estimates, 2006-2020, Samoa Bureau of Statistics.
- 146Article IV Samoa, IMF, 2015
- 147SAMOA Economic Outlook ADB, 2016.
- 148ILO SAMOA National Action Plan on Youth
- 149Asia Pacific End of Decade Notes on Education for All, UNESCO and UNICEF, 2012.
- 150Child Protection Baseline Report for SAMOA 2013, Ministry of Women Community and Social Development.
- 151SAMOA Family Health and Safety Study 2000.
- 152SAMOA Country Cooperation Strategy 2013-2017, WHO.
- 153Global AIDS Response Program Report, Government of SAMOA, 2015.
| Alignment of country development priorities | ||||
| UNPS Outcomes | Country Development
Priority/Pillar |
Strategy | Identified Priorities 2018-2022 | |
| Outcome 1:
Climate Change, Disaster Resilience, and Environmental Protection |
ENVIRONMENT
CUTTING) |
SECTOR | (CROSS- | · Integrate disaster risk management and
climate change in UN programming, ensuring balanced attention to both slow and sudden onset events as well as the adverse impacts of climate change, as these issues can be of particular importance for vulnerable groups. · Provide technical support, facilitate access to financing, strengthen implementation capacity, and ensure participatory approaches. · Facilitate funding for the implementation of available plans (such as disaster risk reduction plans). · Strengthen links between private sector and Government in implementing disaster response. · Include community voice and participation in disaster response, including the mobilization of funding, (working closely with civil society). · Improve coordination among development partners, starting with an integrated consultation and ensuring that the most vulnerable are targeted first. · Ensure that part of the financing specifically addresses gender issues. |
| Outcome 2:
Gender Equality |
||||
| Outcome 3:
Sustainable and Inclusive Economic Empowerment |
ECONOMIC SECTOR
INFRASTRUCTURE SECTOR |
· UN to focus on vulnerable groups, employment creation and good governance at community level.
· Better coordination and wider partnership between public sector, private sector, and NGOs/civil society. · Bridge the gap between national and community governance. · Develop frameworks to enhance public-private partnerships. · Integrate civil society and the private sector into design/planning process of UN/Government programmes. |
||
| Outcome 4:
Equitable Basic Services |
SOCIAL SECTOR | · Advocate and strengthen both formal and non- formal education on human rights, financial
literacy, and livelihood education in both rural and urban areas, especially in vulnerable families including children, youth, women, and men. · Provide and strengthen social protection coverage for vulnerable families including children, youth, women, and men. |
||
| Outcome 5:
Governance and Community Engagement |
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| Outcome 6:
Human Rights |
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