WMO Regional Office for Arica (RAF) participated in the Resident Coordinator’s Office retreat, organized for the Heads of UN agencies and Programme Leads at Kuriftu Resort, Bishoftu, Ethiopia, from 22 – 23 May 2024.

The team met to consider innovative approaches to transcend conventional methods and achieve better, more resilient, and demonstrable evidence-based positive impacts in the face of the challenges in Ethiopia. There is a shared understanding of the need to confront Ethiopia's development challenges head-on and reignite momentum towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and has become imperative for the UNCT to recalibrate its efforts and assert itself as a catalyst for realizing the 2030 Agenda.

The theme of the retreat was: “Accelerating Sustainable Development in Ethiopia: Strategic Priorities for the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework 2025-2030”.

The retreat was attended by over 50 participants from 26 UN Agencies in the country. Drs Agnes Kijazi (Director) and Ernest Afiesimama (Programme Manager) participated on behalf of WMO as well as Siniye Eshete, the driver who took us there.

The Objectives of the retreat include:

·      To identify actionable strategic priorities aligned with government ambitions to accelerate SDG progress and reduce humanitarian needs;

·      To explore the potential of SDG transitions as catalysts for transformative change in Ethiopia;

·      To identify 'engine room' actions to enable and deliver the identified strategic priorities; and

·      To discuss new delivery models to achieve development results at scale amidst reduced financing.

Outcomes

The Retreat provided an opportunity to identify strategic priorities aligned with government ambitions that will underpin the next UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework for the period 2025-2030. It also offered a platform for reflection based on the conversion of the SDGs into transformative entry points, which can have catalytic and multiplier effects across the goals, significantly impacting their achievement. Furthermore, the retreat fostered robust collaboration and coordination among UN agencies and encouraged agencies to critically evaluate their capacities and configurations to ensure they are well-positioned to deliver results at scale. This collaborative effort was considered crucial for catalyzing Ethiopia's transition towards sustainable development and resilience in the face of mounting challenges.

In summary, the retreat underscored the complex challenges facing Ethiopia and the imperative for the UN to adopt innovative, collaborative, and evidence-based approaches to accelerate progress towards the SDGs and address humanitarian needs effectively.

Next Steps:
 The discussions on the Common Country Analysis (CCA) recommended a revision of the document to further reduce the page count while adding the missing analysis on regional perspectives highlighted at the retreat. Agencies will be contacted at appropriate time for specific feedback as needed.

A draft proposal for the new results framework priorities will be developed and presented to the Programme Management Team (PMT) for discussion  the week of 6 June 2024.

The draft document will then be shared with the UNCT for review. In addition, a Strategic Prioritization Retreat has been scheduled for 20 - 21 June 2024. A save-the-date has also been sent to all Heads of Agency, and it would be expedient to mark calendars accordingly.

Cross-section of participants at the UNCT Retreat in Bishoftu, Ethiopia