By Shadrach Aziz Kamara
The United Nations Resident Coordinator, Saraphine Wakana, and the Chief Minister of Sierra Leone, Dr. David Moinina Sengeh, have on Friday 26th July, 2024, officially launched the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) 2024-2030.
The UNSDCF is a five-year strategic work plan for joint action that contributes and supports national development priorities in Sierra Leone.
The ceremony which attracted the attention of development partners, Ambassadors, High Commissioners, Government Ministers, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), National Commission of Persons with Disabilities, Children Forum and the National Farmers’ Association, took place at the Bintumani International Conference Centre -Aberdeen, in Freetown.
In his keynote address, Chief Minister Dr. David Moinina Sengeh said that the cooperation has three key priorities which include food system, natural resource management, climate change, human capital, essential services and employment, adding that there is long standing relationship between the UN and the Government of Sierra Leone.
“As I launch this document, we must acknowledge that this is not happening outside the global phenomenon. The relationship between Sierra Leone and UN is not new, this cooperation reaffirms the enduring partnership in development. It would further cement the relationship through this next generation of cooperation framework which is very ambitious in its scope and highly transformative in its agenda,” he affirmed.
He highlighted the significant of the UNSDCF to the sustainable development of Sierra Leone and the need for its full implementation, noting the reason he expressed the government’s all-inclusive commitment to supporting its implementation.
According to the Chief Minister, this is not just a mere document, it is a guiding principle and a testament to our collective cooperation and road map to a bright future that every Sierra Leonean can strive and realize his or her full potential gearing towards the development.
He continued that the government commits its human, financial and institutional resources to closing the inequality gaps in the areas of women and children, persons with disabilities, and the most marginalized and the hard-to-reach.
He went on to say that inclusion should not just be an imagination, but the value and principles with which they work, that it shouldn’t be just a word to the government and also crucial for all partners to be inclusive more especially in the area of respect and equality that must exist within the UN family and other development partners and must ensure that every voice counts.
The United Nations Resident Coordinator, Saraphine Wakana, mentioned the significant of collaboration by all partners involved to the UNSDCF and expressed the UN’s readiness towards its implementation.
“Today, the event signifies our quest to deepen the relationship with a shared goal to ensuring that Sierra Leone becomes a better place. The UN is concerned that the successful implementation of this cooperation framework depends on stronger partnership,” she stated.
She noted that the UN is commitment to working closely with the government of Sierra Leone, all development partners, the private sector and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to fully involved in the achievement of the outcomes that have been articulated in the framework in an inclusive manner.
The Minister of Planning and Economic Development (MOPED), Kenyeh Barley, described the signing and launching of the UNSDCF as the beginning of a journey to a process that was very inclusive with vital focus to the country’s national systems and procedures, and national development agenda.
“It’s gratifying that the broad keys areas of the plan align with Sierra Leone’s Medium-Term National Development Plan, the Big Five Game Changer and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2025-2030. The process ensured that stakeholders across all districts made their priorities in the UNSDCF for the next five years,” she said.
