UN ANNUAL RESULTS REPORT 2022

The United Nations Sao Tome and Principe is pleased to present this Annual Report 2022 which highlights the main results of the UN in 2022, in support of the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

2022 marked the final and sixth year of the UNDAF, the UN Development Assistance Framework. A new Cooperation Framework for Sustainable Development was signed on 30 November 2022, covering 2023 – 2027. I would like to thank the development partners for their continued partnership but also for helping us shaping the direction of the new Cooperation Framework putting a stronger emphasis on the People Left Behind and the structural transformation that is required in achieving the SDGs. Sao Tome and Principe presented its first Voluntary National Report on the implementation of SDGs to the UN’s Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in July 2022, a major achievement as it clearly highlights the progress to date and the challenges ahead.

Due to the Russia-Ukraine war, Sao Tome and Principe has suffered a high inflation, a widening trade deficit and a deceleration of its economic growth figures in 2022 which is putting additional strains on its sustainable development trajectory.

2022 has been the year of elections for which the UN has played a key role in accompanying the authorities during the process and in ensuring that all can vote, including those living with specific disabilities. The UN has also worked closely with civil society organisations, fostering youth and women engagement. In this respect, I am glad to see that the Parity Law has been promulgated that starts to correct the imbalance in representation of women in political bodies.

I would like to congratulate the country on its first participation in a UN Peacekeeping operation, it is a remarkable achievement for a small country, and I hope it is the beginning of a much larger Santomean participation in UN missions in future.

Lastly, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Government of Sao Tome and Principe for all the support that the UN has received in my first year as United Nations Resident Coordinator, during which I had the privilege to represent the Secretary General of the UN in Sao Tome and Principe. I am confident that the current cooperation with UN agencies, funds and programs will grow in size and quality to keep the development of the beautiful islands of Sao Tome and Principe on track towards the achievement of the Agenda 2030.