The UN Assistant-Secretary General and Deputy Executive Director of UNFPA met with the UN Country Team (UNCT) in the DRC and the Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator, Mr. Bruno Lemarquis.
The Resident Coordinator welcomed Dr. Diene Keita and her entourage to the UNCT. He shared the progress made in terms of development in the DRC. Among the challenges he highlighted was the ongoing conflict in the east of the country which had regional repercussions. He also mentioned the increasing number of people in need of assistance in a context of limited resources. Discussions continued around the progress made in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the need for acceleration if the DRC hopes to achieve its goals.
Taking the floor, Ms. Diene Keita introduced the new UNFPA Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa (ESARO). She then underlined the importance for the UN country team to work in synergy to support the Resident Coordinator. She urged the agencies to support the coordination with resources, while stressing the importance of coordination for the success of the UN mission in DRC.
She congratulated the entire UN country team in DRC for the progress made in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and emphasized the need for data to enable the country to measure progress.
In their interventions, the heads of agencies dwelled on the remarkable work done by UNFPA in the DRC in the fight against GBV and particularly against sexual exploitation and abuse. As for Dr. Diene Keita, she insisted on the need to adopt a more holistic approach to gender-based violence.
The interactions with the United Nations Country Team (UNCT) were very fruitful and took place in a warm atmosphere and constructive ideas were shared.
