Government of The Bahamas Receives UN Official with Discussions on Development Cooperation. UN Announces New Country Coordination Officer in The Bahamas

The discussions were had as part of Dr Conille’s consultative mission to The Bahamas where he also met with civil society, business and financial leaders, and the diplomatic community. The Bahamas, it is hoped, will engage in the process of developing and signing a new United Nations Multi-Country Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (MSDCF) for the Caribbean.

The discussions highlighted national priority areas for possible heightened cooperation. These included issues related to emergency preparedness and response, migration, the environment, maritime conservation, safety and security, economic diversification as well as recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Resident Coordinator and the Government of the Bahamas have taken steps to strengthen United Nations collaboration and cooperation in the Commonwealth. The MSDCF is the most important planning and implementation instrument for UN development activities within countries, translating the vision of Member States into UN actions and impacts on the ground. The MSDCF would support a more strategic and accountable engagement with the UN system and would be coupled with a Country Implementation Plan – developed with The Bahamas.

The RC also announced the official appointment of Ms Aneesah Abdullah, United Nations Country Coordination Officer, resident in the Bahamas.

“Ms Abdullah serves as our representative in the island, and we have committed resources to ensure that her role supports us not only in delivering the transformative results that the Bahamas deserves, but also to tell the rich story of its successes,” Dr Conille said.

Ms Abdullah recently concluded a term within the Economic Development and Planning Unit/Sustainable Development Goals Unit in the Office of the Prime Minister, Bahamas.  Here, she co-led the national coordination, promotion, and monitoring efforts regarding the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals in The Bahamas. In her new role, Ms. Abdullah will work to foster UN operational coherence and joint programmes at the country level, encourage partnerships and financing for development opportunities and support comprehensive UN coordination for disaster risk management and humanitarian response.

Minister Henfield welcomed the appointment of Ms Abdullah.

“You have made an excellent choice,” Minister Henfield said, adding that Abdullah’s appointment will foster a more collaborative approach to the coordination of UN Agencies, Funds and Programmes.

On the Development Cooperation Framework, the Foreign Affairs Minister welcomed the regional approach to developing the MSDCF while encouraging country-tailored approaches that are fit for purpose and the needs of each country. Key to this, he acknowledged, is the inclusion of climate change particularly for small island states.

“Unless we address climate change, natural disasters will be more nefarious,” Henfield said.

Dr Conille also acknowledged the challenges ahead in building back better from the COVID-19 pandemic and the issues impacting socio-economic recovery.

“Vaccination hesitancy and access remain regional and global challenges. Education and tourism, especially, face uphill processes of transformation in the Caribbean,” Dr Conille said. “The pandemic has also exposed grave inequities associated with country income classifications based primarily on gross national income (GNI) per capita which paint an inadequate picture of development and preclude middle- and high-income countries from overseas development assistance.”

Dr Conille reiterated the continued commitment of the Secretary-General to push for a global multi-vulnerability index that recognizes the nuanced vulnerabilities, social and climatic, which also impact development progress.

Minister Henfield commended the Secretary-General for his efforts in this regard, adding, that countries must also be assessed on these vulnerabilities and not solely on their GNI. The Foreign Minister also welcomed opportunities to support this objective within regional and international bodies with the support of the Resident Coordinator’s Office.

The mission concludes on Saturday, May 29 with a visit by the UN team to the Island of Abaco. Meetings with other members of the government will occur in the coming weeks.

On the occasion, the Minister also formally received the letters of appointment of Dr Conille as United Nations Resident Coordinator in the Bahamas.

“Thank you on behalf of the people and Government of the Bahamas for this spirit of engagement and for UN’s response and recovery after Dorian. My thanks to the [United Nations] Secretary-General for his solidarity and support marked by his visit and activation of UN agencies after the 2019 disaster,” Henfield said.