UN agencies plan to set up more offices in Nairobi

Kenya is set to be a United Nations (UN) hub after top officials revealed plans to have more additional offices established in Nairobi.

Director General of the United Nations Office Nairobi (UNON) Zainab Bangura who spoke during the ongoing United Nations Human Settlements Programme UN-HABITAT assembly said more UN agencies were seeking to relocate to Nairobi.

UN global hub

“The second UN-HABITAT assembly held in Nairobi is an indication of the importance and relevance of Nairobi as a UN global hub. The office in Nairobi has the only UN headquarter office in the global south and has seen an increased number of UN offices seeking to relocate their staff in Nairobi with the objective of working together to the realization of the 2030 agenda for sustainable development,” said Bangura.

Bangura said the UN is relocating its Africa projects management entity to Nairobi, indicating its desire to concentrate on achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs) in African countries.

A self-financing entity, UNOPS has had its Africa Regional Office housed under the same roof as its global headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark, but often implements projects in crisis-hit countries across the continent especially those at war or recovering from conflict.

 It acts as a project implementer for other UN agencies or programmes and charges them a fee for providing infrastructure, procuring supplies and managing UN projects especially those aligned with SDGs.

 Recently, President William Ruto announced plans to renovate the United Nations office in Nairobi.

 Kenya was admitted to the United Nations membership on December 16, 1963, the same year it attained independence.

 In 1996, the United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON) was established, becoming one of four major UN office sites and the UN’s headquarters in Africa.