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LEADING development partners presented a digital application at the recently held 25th edition of the conference of parties in Spain to help African countries grappling with the immediate implementation of key global initiatives.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), African Development Bank (AfDB), and the African Union Development Agency-NEPAD (AUDA-NEPAD) unveiled the Guide for Integrated Planning in Africa at the conference.
In a statement, AfDB said the Guide for Integrated Planning in Africa will be available as a digital application and in handbook format.
“The digital application will make it easier for African planners to search for and apply tools for developing a new generation of national development plans.
“The guide will help mainstream the Sustainable Development Goals, AU Agenda 2063, the Paris Agreement on Climate Change/Nationally Determined Contributions, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and the New Deal for Engagement in Fragile States into African countries’ national development plans,” it said.
Additional features include interactive pages that allow planners to apply tools directly on the online platform and deliver outputs, such as results frameworks or the theory of change.
It is hoped that the step-by-step guide will provide African planners with a new generation of national development strategic and operational plans that mainstream these global initiatives.
UNDP resident representative in Togo Mr Aliou Dia said the guide would help governments on the continent to accelerate the delivery of the SDGs in the decade of implementation.
“It will also support the implementation of UNDP’s Climate Promise which help countries revise and submit enhanced NDCs by 2020, and reflect them into their new national development plans,” he was quoted as saying.
AfDB director for climate change and green growth Mr Anthony Nyong noted that good planning tools enable them to streamline their work and allocate resources efficiently promoting effective service delivery.
“We are committed to working with Regional Member Countries to mainstream the global development agendas in the national development plans with the ultimate goal of ending poverty, generating jobs for youth and protecting the planet,” he said.
AUDA director of programme innovation and planning Ms Estherine Fotabong said the guide supports the vision of harnessing knowledge to deliver the desired Africa, fostering the development of the continent through effective and integrated planning, coordination and implementation of Agenda 2063 with Member States, Regional Economic Communities and Pan-African institutions, by leveraging partnerships and technical cooperation.
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