Swedish support of UN Reform

By Sweden Embassy Press Release Reprint | | Print |

Ms. Anna Jardfelt Ambassador of Sweden to Kenya and Mr. Siddharth Chatterjee UN Resident Coordinator to Kenya. Credit: UN Kenya

NAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 3 2019 - Swedish support of UN Reform and the UN Secretary General’s call for a reinvigorated Resident Coordinator function – Advancing coordination, innovation and results in UN’s contributions to Kenya’s development priorities.

“Delivering as One – Going to the furthest first”.

Several members of the Development Partners Group in Kenya, including Sweden have at various occasions reiterated the importance of UN Reform and the UN Resident Coordinator Office, leading and coordinating the delivery of UN development results to Kenya.

Sweden is today pleased to acknowledge a new agreement, supporting the UN Resident Coordinator for a period of two years under the heading Reinvigorated UN Resident Coordinator’s Office, advancing the UN Reform Implementation Plan in Kenya.

“Sweden is a strong advocate for UN reform. This bridging support will enable the Resident Coordinator’s office in Kenya to spearhead the UN reform at country level, maintain current capacity and advance transformative and repositioning work, for greater impact and sustainable development results. This work will be done in line with UN reform and in support of Kenya’s national, regional and global development priorities and aspirations,” said the Ambassador of Sweden Ms. Anna Jardfelt when she announced the support.

The Resident Coordinators Office capability to spearhead UN reform in Kenya, continue lead and advance coordination, innovation and communication of results is essential for UN’s effective delivery of its total contribution to Kenya, the United Nation Development Assistance Framework, UNDAF, 2018-2022, signed by Government of Kenya and 23 UN Heads of Agencies, with an estimated budget close to USD 1.9 billion for the current 4-year period.

About the UN in Kenya
As stated in the UN SG implementation plan of the UN Reform, member States’ calls for a reinvigorated RC system, which ultimately rest in the transformation of the development landscape, as reflected in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Its universal, integrated and people-centered nature, which integrates economic, social and environmental dimensions of development, requires a collaborative, coordinated and innovative response by the UN development system, at an unprecedented scale. This needs to be matched by equal ambition in the organization, operations, funding and overall mindset of the UN development system to ensure integrated action towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in a way that leaves no-one behind.

The Resident Coordinator in Kenya is expected to lead impartially, accelerate and leverage initiated efforts. In June 2018, the UN Resident Coordinator, the Cabinet Secretary for National Treasury, Cabinet Secretary for Devolution and ASAL, and the entire UN country team of 23 UN Heads of Agencies, including the World Bank and the IMF, signed a new United Nations Development Assistance Framework for Kenya at a value of USD 1.9 billion. The new UNDAF 2018-2022 was widely consulted and has been identified by the Deputy Secretary General as one of three global best examples of new generations of One UN strategies at the country level.

The Resident Coordinator’s Office leads, coordinate and incubate UN wide and joint actions on strategic policy, innovative approaches, expanded partnerships and diversification of investments, advancing the UN SG reform agenda and Kenya’s development strategies, at national and devolved levels, including a new partnership platform for expanding private sector and philanthropy in realizing SDGs and the Presidential Big 4 Agenda in Kenya. The platform under the Resident Coordinator coordinates efforts to diversify development financing tools, invest in SDG data development and nurture public, private partnerships, across the SDGs and UN agency mandates.

The Cross-Border Programme between Kenya and Ethiopia, with ongoing discussions on expansion to the borders of Uganda and Somalia is another example of a Joint GoK/UN/partner flagship, advancing the reform agenda on transformative peace and socio-economic transformation. With improved coordination costs can be saved and impact increased, fragmented projects can be replaced by integrated approaches, resources can be further optimized by matching national, county, private and development partner’s value addition.

Comprehensive responses to inequality and citizenship, empowering gender and human rights driven development, can re-focus strategies from short term emergency response towards prevention, resilience, socio-economic transformation – leaving no one behind. Only with concerted efforts can development efforts counter the threats of poverty driven radicalization, forced migration and cyclical conflicts and utilize untapped opportunities, release the creativity of young women and men to realize the Kenya Vision 2030 -shared prosperity.