Enhancing collaboration with RCs/UNCTs and promoting institutional coherence in country level support by ECA: a strategic approach

Abstract

The UN reforms at the regional and country levels were to create better coherence and coordination through vertical and horizontal integration in ensuring enhanced delivery and accelerated process of realizing the SDGs, and in the case of Africa, in sync with Agenda 2063. The realization of the SDGs is offtrack in many regions of the World due mainly to the devastating effects of COVID 19 and as such, rescuing the SDGs is a major priority for all UN agencies especially the Regional Commissions. Rescuing the SDGs and Agenda 2063 in Africa will require scaling-up support to the RCs/UNCTs and a better internal coordinated approach in working with RCs/UNCTs and in support to member States. Currently, all parts of ECA work with RCs/UNCTs and provide technical advisory support to member-States, but largely not well coordinated with no monitoring, and reporting mechanism. Hence, there is no systematic documentation or reporting of ECA’s intervention and support at the country level. This is a major gap that this strategic document seeks to fill. The strategic document focuses on three major objectives. How to enhance collaboration by ECA with RCs/UNCTs especially as Regional Commissions are being called to demonstrate their value proposition at the country level and promote vertical integration of the UN reforms connecting the regional and country levels; How to ensure better institutional coherence, coordination and internal monitoring and reporting of the work being done by ECA at the country level including support to RCs/UNCTs and direct response to requests from member- States; Profile the institutional offer/menu of services that ECA provides which RCs/UNCTs, and member-States can tap into.