TheJourneyVolume1 - Book - Page 51
and diplomats were: “Eritrea is different.” I quickly
learned that I would need a different approach to the way
I deal with development challenges.
Luckily, UNDP is considered a dependable partner of
choice and my task has been for UNDP to be responsive
and fit for purpose in Eritrea. What has stood out for
me as best practice is the organizational flexibility and
national ownership as our DNA of development. Over
the years, UNDP Eritrea has been the backbone of UN
support to the national development goals, particularly
in the domains of climate change and sustainable natural
resource management, capacity building for accountable
institutions, public administration, service delivery, and
promoting inclusive growth and livelihoods.
I certainly feel privileged to have been entrusted
with this role of RR, and the experience has so far
been humbling. I joined the position hoping to make a
difference to the lives of the people we serve and to put
the mantra of Leaving No One Behind to the test.
plans indeed stood out as a stellar contribution. In Eritrea,
we have just finalized the new Country Programme
Document (CPD 2022-26) and at the centre is the
imperative to build forward better as countries recover
from the socio-economic impacts of the pandemic.
In contributing to the response and recovery, UNDP’s
Eritrea CO will aim to build forward better by working to
broadly engage society and the government. At the same
time, the pandemic has challenged us to re-think development. For Africa, this means investing in digitalization
as our ‘new normal’ and expanding on system-thinking
to specifically connect the SDG dots to reach those left
furthest behind due to the impact of the pandemic. 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
HARD WORK AND TEAMWORK
One of the takeaways has been the need to always be
consciously aware of both my environment and my
responsibilities and to be exemplary because finally,
the buck stops with me! My staff have been amazing
and despite the hard work they do in a very challenging
operational environment, continue to put their best foot
forward. They have shared the joys and pains that come
with the burdens of running the CO, especially in the face
of daunting challenges and crises, including the COVID-19
pandemic and the Tigray conflict.
The teamwork, collegiality, and support from RBA and
the Regional hubs have made things lighter. So has the
mentorship of my Regional Director, Ahunna Eziakonwa,
who has been a pillar of support, not just to me but also to
the rest of the RR Africa group. She was exemplary at the
height of the COVID-19 pandemic, organizing weekly calls
and reaching out to us by constantly leading from the front.
The conversations were critically important in positioning
UNDP to identify the challenges of the pandemic in Africa
but also to look for opportunities that could be harnessed.
The onset of COVID- 19
reinforced the imperative for
UNDP’s integrator role in
Africa… At the same time, the
pandemic has challenged us to
re-think development.”
BUILDING FORWARD BETTER
The onset of COVID- 19 reinforced the imperative for
UNDP’s integrator role in Africa. Our lead in the formulation of the socio-economic assessments and recovery
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