Issues like climate change, jobs and income, inclusion and diversity carry the highest stakes for young people. UN Resident Coordinators, leading UN country teams on the ground, are at the forefront of efforts to engage youth voices for the SDGs.
In 2016, the UN in Zambia launched the first Sustainable Development Partnership Framework (2016-2021), a strategic document to address some of the multi-dimensional development challenges faced by this emerging middle income country.
From the economic repercussions of the COVID pandemic to food insecurity exacerbated by the Ukraine war, Secretary-General António Guterres painted a picture of accumulating crises that have put the drive towards the global goals into reverse.
Let’s start with a little bit of recent history. Innovative financing for the UN goes back to the International Conference on Financing for Development in 2002. The hope was that innovative financing would help to bridge the gap between what was available and what was needed to reach the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015.
During a visit to Tajikistan, Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed congratulated the country on its 30th anniversary of UN Membership and attended a Cooperation Framework signing ceremony that “reflects our strong partnership”. The joint UN-Tajikistan document, which was signed on Tuesday by Prime Minister Kokhir Rasulzoda and UN Resident Coordinator Sezin Sinanoglu, sets out national development priorities and goals for the next four years.
In the world of development, UNDAF is one acronym you must know if you are interested in the UN’s work. The UN Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) provides a multi- year strategic plan for the UN’s work in a country. UNDAFs are critical for the UN at the country level to channel coherent support to governments and partners to achieve results for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Given the newness of Agenda 2030, the 2016 UNDAFs were one of a kind: they set the benchmark on new trends and practices to illustrate the role of the UN in supporting governments to achieve sustainable development goals. Last year, a small team in the UN Development Operations Coordination Office embarked on a review of 27 UNDAFs that will be implemented over the next 5 years to see what we could learn
The King Hamad Youth Empowerment Award recognizes young people’s efforts to become effective, productive citizens, who contribute to the welfare of their communities and environment and help advance the UN Sustainable Development Goals.