Side event for 2017 ECOSOC Segment on Operational Activities for Development: "Driving Coherence and Partnership – Mainstreaming the Sustainable Development Goals in Strategic Planning"

WFP Side event

“Driving Coherence and Partnership – Mainstreaming the Sustainable Development Goals in Strategic Planning”

Remarks by Ms. Carla Mucavi, Director of the FAO Liaison Office to the UN

Tuesday, 28 February 2017 | 1:15-2:30 pm

UNHQ Conference Room 7

 

At the outset, I would like to thank WFP for organizing this event. Let me reflect on the discussion points by informing how FAO and its governing bodies are ensuring consistency with the SDGs.

 

First, allow me to say that FAO has done its homework. And we started early.

 

Since 2012, we sharpened the focus of our work, firmly placing ending hunger and malnutrition at the center of what we do.

 

We adopted a transversal approach to address today’s complex and interconnected challenges.

 

We strengthened our field presence improving the support we offer members and bringing global food and agriculture expertise closer to them.

 

And we enhanced partnerships with the UN System, international and regional organizations, rural communities, civil society, the private sector and other stakeholders to increase coordination, complementarity, coherence and to build sinergies.

 

This transformation is complete. And it enables us to give a relevant contribution to Member State efforts to end poverty, hunger and malnutrition, to promote the sustainable use of natural resources in a context of climate change, and to achieve the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals.

 

We are now taking the next steps: mainstreaming the SDGs into our strategic documents. I am pleased to say that, today, FAO published online its proposed Medium Term Plan 2018-21 and Program of Work and Budget 2018-2019. The document is available at www.fao.org/pwb.

 

Together with the FAO reviewed strategic framework, the MTP/PWB will be presented for approval by FAO Member States at our Conference in early July.

 

I would like to point out that at the Strategic Objective level, our program of work and budget will measure progress exclusively using SDGs and targets. Looking into the program of work in greater detail, you will see that it contributes to the achievement of 40 targets of 15 SDGs measured by 53 indicators. Special attention was given to the 25 SDG indicators for which FAO is a custodian or a contributing agency.

 

This effort also completely aligns FAO Country Programming Frameworks with national SDG targets and to our global strategic framework. I would like to emphasize that this is a continuous two-way process between national needs and development plans and our global strategy.

 

This effort is inserted into the broader United Nations thinking process of strategic planning and mainstreaming of the SDGs. In fact, FAO co-hosted with WFP and IFAD the most recent meeting of the informal UN Strategic Planning Network in December 2016, that focused on “Implementation of the 2030 Agenda: implications for strategic planning and monitoring” including the QCPR.

 

These conversations are important because they allow for an exchange of ideas among different fields of expertise. The diversity and capacity to bring together different areas of knowledge are among the most valuable assets of the United Nations.

 

To make the best use of them, The UN system has to work together in a coherent and coordinated manner at all levels, building on the complementarity between entities, and recognizing the respective mandates and unique expertise and experience they have.

 

In this regard, I want to emphasize the complementarity that exists between the Rome-based agencies and our commitment to working together with WFP and IFAD and all partners in assisting member countries in their fight against poverty and hunger.

 

By concluding, I would ask the panellists views on the ways and potentials of financing the new development agenda, both from private and public resources.

 

Thank you.