World Vision Eswatini and Mbabane Municipal Council Forge Strategic Partnership to Address Urban Vulnerability

Mbabane, Eswatini 

World Vision Eswatini and the Municipal Council of Mbabane today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), formalising a strategic partnership aimed at improving the wellbeing of vulnerable children, families, and youth living in the City of Mbabane. 

Speaking during the signing ceremony held at the Municipal Council offices, World Vision Eswatini National Director Amos Zaindi described the agreement as a shared commitment to creating meaningful and lasting change in urban communities.

“This MOU represents a common vision and renewed determination to work together for the wellbeing of the most vulnerable children, families, and communities within Mbabane,” said Zaindi, noting that the organisation’s 2026–2030 strategy prioritises reducing hunger and malnutrition and ending violence against children, particularly in urban contexts where poverty is increasingly concentrated. 

The partnership provides a structured framework for collaboration in priority areas including poverty reduction, child protection, support to orphaned and vulnerable children, skills development for out‑of‑school youth, and assistance to indigent households. It also places strong emphasis on coordinated planning, accountability, safeguarding, and joint resource mobilisation initiatives such as innovative fundraising activities. 

Welcoming the partnership, Municipal Council of Mbabane Chief Executive Officer, Gciniwe Fakudze, highlighted the often‑overlooked realities of urban poverty.

“We are constantly having to convince people that urban poverty is real,” she said. “In Mbabane’s informal settlements, people may look well‑dressed and presentable, but behind that dignity are serious struggles - unemployed youth, elderly grandmothers who cannot afford urban living, child‑headed households, orphans, and other vulnerable groups.”

Fakudze added that vulnerability in urban spaces can be particularly complex due to weakened social safety nets.

“In cities, it is not easy to turn to your neighbour for support. That is why this partnership is so important. We are grateful to partner with World Vision—an organisation that does not only talk, but delivers practical programmes that respond to these realities. The complementary nature of this partnership is exciting, and we assure you that we will move with speed.”

On behalf of the World Vision Eswatini Board, Chairperson of the National Resource, Ministry and Strategy Committee Nelisiwe De Sousa, representing the Board Chairperson, commended the shared commitment demonstrated through the MOU.

“This partnership affirms our collective resolve to improve the lives of vulnerable children, poverty‑stricken families and youth through coordinated action and responsible resource mobilisation,” she said.

Both institutions expressed confidence that the success of the MOU will be measured not by signatures, but by tangible improvements in the lives of Mbabane’s most vulnerable communities over the coming years.

For more details, contact:
Lungile Dlamini-Zwane
Communications & Advocacy Lead 
World Vision Eswatini
(+268) 2404 1102 or (+268) 7802 7367