Strategic Plan 2013 – 2017 of the Ministry of Women Community and Social Development.

This Strategic Plan is a national policy with a cross-sectoral approach. The timeframe of this Plan is 5 years between 2013 and 2017. The goal of the Strategic Plan is to enable social and economic wellbeing for all by improving capacities of individuals and communities to be able to contribute to sustainable community and social development. The objectives of this Plan are to: (I) strengthen social structures through good governance and leadership to enable sustainable community development; (II) meet the socio-economic needs of communities including mainstreaming gender and disability across all sectors; and (III) enhance workforce capacities and institutional mechanisms towards efficiency and professionalism and the effective delivery of community development programs and services.
The partnerships between community and local manufacturers will be developed to provide communities with adequate ‘food safety nets’ and promote sufficient food production.
Community and social development programs and services will be coordinated for youth, women, persons with disabilities and the elderly to increase social and cultural connection. The implementation of the national policies for youth and women will be monitored. Economic empowerment of communities will be ensured through income generating initiatives, small business outreach mentoring, livelihood skills programs and access to financial resources for women, youth and persons with disabilities. The establishment of the Young Entrepreneurs Association will be supported. Available funding schemes will be directed to youth to increase economic development within communities. Agricultural extension services will be provided to farmers and smallholders to support community projects. The support of village councils will be facilitated for the creation of small businesses by young people and women in the villages. Access to basic services and infrastructure will be improved for the communities. Education and awareness programs will be developed to enable better management of the water resource for sustainable use by the relevant communities. Primary based health care programs on sanitation, hygiene, cancer, prevention and awareness, and NCDs will be supported for women and children. Community safety will be improved by reducing rates of violence against women and children. Research, data management, monitoring and evaluation and policy advice for community development interventions will be developed. Social impact assessment of community projects will be carried out. The community participation to decision-making processes will be promoted. To this end, the capacities of the communities will be improved and the linkages of units and groups at all levels of the community will be strengthened.
The community resilience and preparedness will be increased through awareness-raising on disaster risk reduction and management. The technical assistance will be provided to Disaster Advisory Committee. Gender and disability will be mainstreamed into the Pilot Program on Climate Resilience and all Climate Change Policies and Programs. Gender community workshops as part of recovery process for livelihood restoration and sustainable food supply, will be supported to address disaster preparedness and address the impacts of climate change.