Sierra Leone Telegraph: 5 May 2021:
The 2020 UN Country Annual Report on the progress achieved by Sierra Leone in its first implementation year of the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSCDF) 2020-2023, has been published this week.
The report shows the level of progress Sierra Leone has made in achieving the four results areas of the UNSDCF and the overall development and operational activities of the UNCT Sierra Leone.
The UNSDCF is the roadmap towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Sierra Leone. It is aligned with Sierra Leone’s development priorities set out in the government’s Medium-Term National Development Plan (MTNDP) 2019-2023.
According to the UN, “the report is, therefore, a collective effort by the UN system in Sierra Leone, comprising of 21 UN agencies to ensure that no one is left behind while delivering as One UN”.
Writing in the Report’s foreword, Babatunde A. Ahonsi, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Sierra Leone, said:
“On behalf of the United Nations Country Team (UNCT) in Sierra Leone, I am pleased to present to you the 2020 UN Country Annual Results Report on the progress made during the first implementation year of the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSCDF) 2020-2023. The report shows the good progress we have made on the four results areas of the UNSDCF, despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The UNSDCF is our roadmap towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Sierra Leone and it is aligned with Sierra Leone’s development priorities set out in the Medium-Term National Development Plan (MTNDP) 2019-2023. This report is, therefore, a collective effort by the UN system in Sierra Leone, comprising of 21 UN agencies to ensure that no one is left behind while delivering as One UN.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Government of Sierra Leone (GoSL) for its commitment towards the SDGs and the alignment of the national development efforts with Agenda 2030 and the African Union’s Agenda 2063. Human capital development, the heart of the MTNDP, fully aligns with the SDGs.
“GoSL’s extensive collaboration and support to implement the strategic priorities set out in the UNSDCF made it possible for us to deliver 83 percent of our activities, despite the impact of COVID-19 on our socio-economic and political environment. On behalf of the Government, the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development continues to support the UN family in Sierra Leone and co-chairs the Joint Steering Committee of the UNSDCF.
“I appreciate our development partners for the strengthened relationships that have resulted in a significant increase in overall funding and a diversified funding base. Contributions to UN Sierra Leone particularly towards the attainment of SDGs 2 (Zero Hunger) and 3 (Good Health and Well-being) especially during the COVID-19 pandemic has not waned. This was demonstrated with the support the UNCT received for the implementation of the UNSDCF, the UN COVID-19 Socio-economic Response Plan, and the Sierra Leone Humanitarian Response Plan. Continued support from development partners, particularly on activities directed to the most vulnerable groups—women and girls, children, and persons with disability is commended.
“Finally, I wish to note the UN’s growing engagement with civil society in Sierra Leone as evidenced in the development of the 2020 update to the Common Country Analysis, the socio-economic impact assessments of COVID-19, and active participation in the COVID-19 responses. CSOs’ in-depth and granular understanding of the context of Sierra Leone has helped the UNCT with nuanced insights on emerging issues on the ground.”
You can read the Report here:
UN Country Report 2020 – Sierra Leone
The extended version of the report can be accessed here:
https://sierraleone.un.org/en/123661-2020-un-country-annual-results-report-sierra-leone
Every where you look humiliation keeps staring us in the face like a thief waiting for a nightwatchman to fall asleep so that he can sneak past him and quickly rob that same house before the break of dawn.Goodness gracious! Things will never change in Sierra Leone it seems; Grown men that refuse to grow up can be seen everywhere taking discomfiting orders from foreign entities that do not regard them as human beings deserving of any respect at all because of their beggarly and corrupt tendencies. My Goodness!If its not the self seeking criminal IMF chastening and torturing them with their impracticable demands like a hunters dogs chasing down a prey,its bound to be the World Bank, United Nations or the Chinese barking orders furiously at them for credible answers and substantive results.
A nation sixty years old is still struggling to stand on its own two feet without leaning on crutches given to us by predators, not in good faith but with utter contempt.Geez! It is a sad ever continuing story; Everywhere you look there is someone quietly waiting to pat us on our backs like peevish school boys for a job well done, or for not stealing as we used to do once before and for not killing as a barbarian would do anymore but with subtlety,craftiness and calm discreetness. (lol) Sincerely,we appreciate the practical efforts of the UN but when will they understand that progress and development can only be accurately measured when abject poverty is drastically reduced or completely eradicated in our struggling beloved Africa?
I mean let me reiterate,we deeply appreciate the development initiatives in Sierra Leone by the UN but our poor people are hungry Mr Ahonsi; Thousands are dying broke and penniless on our streets with no place to call their home;Is there any way for you can talk some sense into their unthinking heads so that they can at least get their priorities in order? Answer – Why is an urgent Affordable Housing scheme not part of the UN development program? As far as I know no such thing is in the works – correct me if i am wrong Sir does such a program exist? We need to achieve our sustainable development goals but not on empty howling stomachs,and certainly not while sleeping on sidewalks with no place to call a home.(lol)