BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – With only seven years left to deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals, Caribbean Governments and the United Nations have renewed their commitment to intensifying efforts to achieve the vision of the 2030 Agenda under the new United Nations multi-country Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (MSDCF) 2022-2026.
An inaugural meeting of a sub-regional Joint Steering Committee, the governing body charged with strategic oversight for implementing the regional MSDCF in the Eastern Caribbean, was held on Tuesday at the UN House, with robust participation from government leaders. It was co-chaired by UN Resident Coordinator Didier Trebucq and representative of the Government of Barbados, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, Senator Dr. Shantal Munro-Knight.
In delivering opening remarks as co-chair, Trebucq said the first Steering Committee meeting was reasonable for the Sub-region since it allowed partners to come together after one year under the Cooperation Framework to continue their partnership in the work started last year.
“High debt burden, already a longstanding concern in this region, is increasing its pressure on countries. This year alone, global debt service payments skyrocketed to 35 percent – the largest increase in decades and food insecurity has risen from 33 percent to 57 percent. Coupled with the lingering effects of the pandemic and the acceleration of climate change, people and governments in the sub-region are increasingly facing difficult choices to build resilience. In this context, working together and working effectively is of paramount importance. And that is why we are here today,” the UN Head explained.
Identifying efforts around tackling learning losses following the pandemic, increasing access to financing, and strengthening food security as among the vital critical issues delivered for the sub-region in 2022, the UN head said going forward, increased attention would be placed on SDG acceleration, digitization across critical sectors, and climate change and resilience, with greater emphasis on climate financing.
In addressing the gathering, Senator Munro-Knight noted the unprecedented challenges that faced the region over the past two to three years regarding intensity, continuity, and impact.
“I don’t think that there’s ever been a time in the history of the globe that we have seen shock, aftershock, aftershock coming, and particularly for small states,” she maintained, positing that the region is poised to overcome these challenges by its history of survival, solid partnerships and penchant for innovation.
“In a crisis, we always know how to innovate with what we have. I point to the work being done in the context of greening our economies, the energy transitions that are happening, and the efforts to digitize our economies and transform our social structures and governance systems. I also point to the work taking place in the context of criminal justice reform and a whole body of work within the region. We need to continue to highlight the efforts that are being made with the assistance of the UN and other partners to continue to build and instill resilience into our countries,” Munro-Knight added.
She also underscored the importance of having partners like the UN System that is focused on walking beside countries, focused on delivery, listening, being flexible, and ensuring that they are demand-driven.
“Those are the partnerships that are going to define the extent to which, as a region, we are going to be able to continue to thrive,” the minister maintained.
The hybrid meeting at the UN House followed a series of independent reviews of Country Implementation Plans at the country level with critical stakeholders. It brought together Heads and representatives from 13 UN Agencies, Ministers, and senior Government officials from across nine Eastern Caribbean member states.
The UN said fruitful discussions were held on how governments and the UN Development system will work together to ensure efficiency, UN results for 2022, and priorities for 2023 to build resilience and advance SDG progress.
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