New tables, chairs, tents and wheelie bins for Munda Market, in Solomon Islands will help cater for the increase in the number of market vendors at the market since it opened for business in February this year.
The items were presented in Honiara yesterday by Australian High Commission Head of Mission H.E Dr. Lachlan Strahan, and received by UN Women Country Program Coordinator for Solomon Islands, Alvina Erekali, on behalf of the Munda Market Authority.
The initiative is based on support from the Markets for Change project and is also aimed at easing overcrowding and providing a safe space for market vendors and public as part of COVID 19 response.
Munda Market was handed over to the Western Provincial Government in December 2021 and opened for business in February 2022. The market provides a space for rural women to sell their produce and craft.
M4C supports the development of physical market structures and operating systems that are gender-responsive, ensures safety and accessibility, and resilient to climate change and disaster risks.
The Markets for Change (M4C) project promotes gender equality through the economic empowerment of women market vendors in Fiji, Samoa, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. It brings together governments, market vendors and market vendor associations (MVAs), civil society organisations and UN agencies.
M4C is implemented by UN Women in partnership with UNDP and the Governments of Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.
Source: UN Women