TheJourneyVolume1 - Book - Page 111
I am grateful and privileged to be part of
#NextGenUNDP’s first cohort of UNDP Resident Representatives, post delinking, under the UNDS Reforms. The
opportunity to achieve results under the newly defined,
people-centered (development) framework, has enhanced
the sense of purpose and belonging I always had towards
serving and contributing to the development agenda. On
hearing about the UN Reform, I immediately thought of
greater efficiency, higher impact on people’s lives, and
concrete ways to achieve the Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs) and the Agenda 2030. I also thought that
after many reform efforts within the UN, this would be the
right one, focusing on both strategic and programmatic
issues, as well as operations and streamlining business
processes. Overall, it generated a renewed hope in me to
better serve people as part of the UN.
MITIGATING EFFECTS OF COVID-19
In this COVID-19 context, the main challenge of being
a Resident Representative has been to maintain the
momentum and focus on delivering results, bearing in
mind that both staff and partners are under pressure
dealing with uncertainties regarding the pandemic.
I have worked to design innovative solutions with
my team, especially in the health sector, to strengthen
partnerships with the Government, private sector, other
UN agencies, universities, and CSOs. The aim is to foster
a whole society approach to the efforts, while not leaving
behind the aims under the 2030 Agenda.
Some key results include the establishment of The
BUILDING FORWARD BETTER
The Gambia should further strengthen its health
system both in terms of decentralized infrastructures
and capacities. The system has been severely damaged
by the two decades of dictatorship and massive brain
drain. The pandemic has shown that there is a need for
collective efforts to support rebuilding the system. Greater
partnership has been initiated by the government in this
regard, however, there is a need to retain talent and build
new capacities with specialized medical schools that will
generate enough capacities to face the current crisis and
those that are yet to come.
Possibilities under the AfCFTA could be explored to
improve capacities and reimagine what the different
sectors should look like in the new Gambia. The Tourism
sector, which has been much impacted, could rethink
its strategy and include high-quality health services that
could be made available in The Gambia and benefit the
population and tourists.
It is amazing to see how young people, who lost numerous
jobs in sectors such as tourism, rapidly adapted to the
crisis, setting up new ways of doing business with greater
community access. We as UNDP could further support this
trend, which also provides more space to women.
And as for me, it has been an amazing journey so far, and
I look forward to the next steps, especially in this historic
context, which is transforming the way we contribute to
the Development Agenda. n
U N I T E D N AT I O N S D E V E L O P M E N T P R O G R A M M E
IN THE GAMBIA
Building on long-standing trust from Gambians, the
government, civil society, the private sector, and development partners, UNDP’s Country Office (CO) in The
Gambia continues to be central in supporting, its development work under the UNDAF framework. The Country
Office is also central to the ongoing democratic transition
processes, namely security sector, rule of law, human
rights, constitutional review, transitional justice, while
ensuring continuous support for the implementation of
the National Development Plan, especially at strategic
policy level in line with the Agenda 2030.
Since I joined the CO two years ago, I have been
working intensively in implementing methods to think
about development differently, with a greater focus on
community development. The UNDP’s Accelerator Lab
is an initiative providing an opportunity to change the
narrative and engage with different stakeholders.
My main takeaway from the Resident Representative position - in the context of democratic transition,
peacebuilding, and the COVID-19 pandemic, overlapping with an electoral process - is the need to continuously remember the aspirations of the people for rapid
changes, especially after 22 years under a dictatorship.
Therefore, forecast analysis is essential to mitigate and
prevent the impact of emerging cross-border security
challenges and the ill-effects of the climate-development
nexus. We will need to prioritize peacebuilding as well as
foster economic efforts to build a conducive environment
for private sector growth to achieve the SDGs.
Gambia’s first Virtual Courts to ensure continuity of the
judiciary; the partnership with The Gambia’ Chamber of
Commerce on prison reform to mitigate inmates’ exposure
to COVID-19; and the partnership with the Government,
World Bank, and WHO in establishing the EFSTH - Bakau
as the main COVID-19 treatment center, which provided
timely support during the worst-hit periods.
In addition, through the support provided by the AccLab,
we have digitalized health facilities and developed
tailored applications to facilitate the population’s access
to essential services, including weekly markets. What
the pandemic has also shown, is how people rapidly
embraced the use of digital platforms, including mobile
money and delivery.
I also believe regional development cooperation
and multilateralism should continue to be reinforced.
The unequal access to vaccines has taught us why the
countries being left behind, should find ways to rebuild
related sectors and pay greater attention to health and
education, as essential socio-economic rights. I look
forward to seeing improved systems based on lessons
learned from the shock of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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