Niamey (Niger) — On instructions of the UN Deputy Secretary General, the UN System has, since April 2018, embarked on outlining a development vision for the Sahel through a prospective socio-economic study led by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).
This initiative is being carried out in a context marked by an escalation in complex national and cross-border security threats, governance crises and structural climatic stress, which have a serious impact on human security and sustainable development in the Sahel. This process is part of the implementation of both the African Union's 2063 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
It aims to identify the fundamentals, and to set the conditions, for achieving a bright future for the people of the Sahel on a generation horizon.
As a reminder, even though it is undeniable that the Sahel faces many challenges, the negative narrative stamped on this Region accounts for only a tiny fragment of its history. It is true that the Sahel is blessed with abundant natural resources, which if managed equitably and in a sustainable manner, can positively transform the situation of the region. The Sahel is home to the main producers of oil, gold and uranium on the continent, wealth that has turned the region into an arena for geopolitical confrontations and interest. Beyond mineral wealth, the region's riches also reside in its resilience vis-à-vis to endogenous and exogenous economic, social and political shocks.
Hence, this ambitious initiative, carried out through a regional participatory and inclusive approach, will provide relevant analysis and strategic choices to Sahel governments, key regional stakeholders and the United Nations system, so as to speedup socio-economic development, and facilitate the achievement of national, regional and international development programs. This prospective study, which also falls within the framework of reshaping the United Nations Integrated Strategy for the Sahel (UNISS), will enable the ten concerned countries (Burkina Faso, Chad, Cameroon, the Gambia, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria, Niger, and Senegal) to come up with a sustainable response to the challenges of the region, particularly those relating to governance, security, and sustainable development.
At this phase, several intermediate outputs have been achieved, namely: the drafting of the Sahel retrospective and strategic diagnostic report, capacity building on prospective analysis and in systems dynamics modeling for national experts, a survey on the aspirations of populations of the Sahel, and the structural analysis of the Sahel system. The next steps shall focus on defining and quantifying scenarios, as well as on defining the vision and strategic orientations. This should consolidate the achievement, in November 2018, of a comprehensive prospective study of the Sahel vision in 2043 horizon.
For more information, please contact: Tahirou Gouro, Communications Officer, CEA-BSR / WA,
Mob: +227 90 99 99 39, Email: Gouro2@un.org
