United Nations Sierra Leone newsletter - July 2023 edition

The most important asset of the UN is its staff and not its financial resources – the people, the technical expertise, the service ethos, and the commitment that each one brings to the work they do on a day-to-day basis.

This was the crux of my message when we last met on Friday, 9th June, for an in-person Town Hall meeting held at the New Brookfield’s Hotel Hall with an estimated 300 staff members in attendance.

for the UN staff to be able to ask questions and get clarifications on issues, and for us as the Country Team to be able to account to you on our joint leadership.

At the Town Hall, I congratulated the agencies, funds, and programmes for their support of Sierra Leone’s development aspirations in line with Agenda 2030 and for working together to achieve impressive results. Highlights include delivering on time a high-quality ‘One UN’ Annual Results Report for 2022, the UNDP-led Elections Support Project, and establishing the UN Youth Advisory Group, among others.

I noted the need to shift our focus after the elections to conducting a full Common Country Analysis (CCA) and the independent evaluation of the current UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSCDF). Both exercises will provide us with the analysis and insights for designing the next Cooperation Framework for 2025- 2028, which will be aligned with the next Medium-Term National Development Plan (MTNDP). Several agencies will also be advancing the development of their next country programme documents.

Also, I informed staff members that in parallel with the September 2023 General Assembly session, there will be the SDG Summit in which the Heads of State are expected to review progress on the delivery of the SDGs to date.

Globally, improvement is seen in only 12% of the SDGs; 50% have stagnated, and more than 30% are retrogressing. Therefore, the Summit will be an occasion to generate re-commitment towards

rescuing and accelerating the implementation of the SDGs, and countries will be expected to come to the SDG Summit with a progress report and a clear plan for making up lost ground in their respective countries.

I am very pleased that the Town Hall also allowed staff members to be briefed and to ask questions on the recent salary increment and the next steps; prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse; staff welfare issues like 40 hours per week proposal; security updates ahead of the elections on 24 June; and a presentation on the code of conduct and obligations of UN staff during and after the elections period.

A lot of work remains for us to do in support of SDG attainment in Sierra Leone. But I am confident that our dedication to advancing the SDGs and the core values of the United Nations will yield notable returns.

Babatunde Ahonsi

UN Resident Coordinator