Aside from recurrent drought and climate induced emergencies, Somalia is facing other deep-rooted yet interlinked challenges, including violent conflict, corruption, poverty and rising numbers of internal displacement. For the Resident Coordinator and the UN country team, breaking these chronic cycles of crises and tackling the root causes of displacement, insecurity and climate induced emergencies and support Somalia’s development ambitions been a key overarching priority.
“We need support and we need it now”: A new report by FAO and WFP expect conditions to worsen for a further 18 countries, bringing the total pushed to the brink by conflict, climate change and economic shocks to 22.
In a session like no other, against a background of urgent global crises and at the mid-point towards the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, UN leaders and Member State representatives gathered in New York at the ECOSOC Segment on Operational Activities for Development to take stock of the UN development system’s progress and challenges ahead from 23-25 May 2023.
The UN Development System stocktaking moment that happened last week in New York was marked by the strong support of the Member States with the concrete results achieved by the Resident Coordinator System and the UN development system at large.
"First, the objective of the Funding Compact holds true. Adjusting the quantity and quality of funding does have a multiplier effect on the implementation of the SDGs...These results do not happen in a vacuum. They can only be achieved through funding adequate expertise in UN development system entities and in UN country teams to provide advice adjusted to country needs and priorities. Yet, and this is my second point, the implementation of the Funding Compact commitments remains mixed overall."
"When we started the reform process, no one foresaw that our country teams would be operating in such challenging conditions. Despite that, four years on, the reforms have succeeded."
"Resident Coordinators are now our backbone to translate global commitments into effective action on the ground.
Before these reforms, this link simply did not exist and there was a gap between intergovernmental outcomes and action by UN Country Teams.
This is no longer the case."
The 2023 Report of the Chair of the UN Sustainable Development Group on the Development Coordination Office (DCO) and the Resident Coordinator (RC) system dives deep into the real and tangible impacts of investing strategically in development coordination across country, regional and global levels. It is a testament to how far we can go when we work together as one UN.
Graduating from the category of Least Developed Countries (LDCs) is a milestone moment in a country’s development journey, but it is not always an easy one. Bangladesh, Lao PDR, and Nepal have learnt this the hard way, since the recommendation in 2021 for all three countries to leave this group currently comprising 46 of the world’s most vulnerable countries. Finalizing preparations for a smooth and just transition, which is now set for 2026, has its own set of challenges, particularly in the areas of trade, intellectual property rights, climate finance, debt relief and grant eligibility.
