UN supports Saint Lucia to accelerate progress towards SDG attainment

The UN Barbados and Eastern Caribbean Multi-Country Office is intensifying efforts to support Saint Lucia to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and improve the quality of life of Saint Lucians.

A hybrid 2-day workshop, organised by the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office and the Department of Sustainable Development in the Government of Saint Lucia, was recently convened in Castries, Saint Lucia, with participation from over 50 officials from various levels including Government ministers, academia, civil society personnel and representatives of the United Nations.

The high-level meeting was designed to meet two critical objectives – to review the 2022-2023 UN Country Implementation Plan for Saint Lucia and to discuss the findings of a consultancy to reinvigorate the SDG National Coordinating Committee (SDGNCC). Within the context of the CIP, the SDGNCC is the primary mechanism responsible for planning, monitoring and implementation of the 2030 Agenda in Saint Lucia and for CIP progress review.

During the CIP review, the UN Country Coordination Officer for Saint Lucia, Dr. Lorraine Nicholas, presented the collective results of the UN Development System in Saint Lucia for 2022, with analytical reference to Saint Lucia’s progress towards attaining the Sustainable Development Goals. This session also afforded government officials and UN agencies the opportunity to share and discuss good practices, lessons learnt, implementation challenges and success stories.

In delivering Opening Remarks to the technical workshop, Mr. Kenroy Roach, Head of the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean urged the SDGNCC, to not simply exist, but more importantly to function effectively. He noted: “it is critical that this committee is fully functional. And it is for this reason that the UN without hesitation, came on board to support its reinvigoration”.

Meanwhile, Minister with responsibility for Sustainable Development, Hon. Shawn Edwards, in addressing the policy session attended by ministerial colleagues and Permanent Secretaries, emphasised the importance of coordination for SDG achievement. Whilst observing that the SDG portfolio resided within his ministry, he maintained, “no one ministry, no one agency has full responsibility for the SDGs and the only way Saint Lucia can effectively attain the goals is if we work collaboratively.”

Mr. Didier Trebucq, UN Resident Coordinator for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, also addressed Ministers and other senior officials of the Government, noting that “while the SDGs may not have traditionally been considered a priority, given the presence of pressing “bread and butter” national issues, “increasingly, we are recognising the nexus between these global goals and national development”.

He, therefore, encouraged the policymakers to prioritise sustainable development issues, including the system for monitoring SDG progress, noting that their guidance on how this mechanism could be best configured and positioned is vital, since it could potentially “pave the way for increased implementation assistance from interested UN agencies to support your government with SDG acceleration”.

Workshop participants also had the opportunity to review and validate the findings of a consultancy to provide technical assistance to Saint Lucia to strengthen the SDG coordinating mechanism, to improve its functionality. Supported by the United Nations Barbados and Eastern Caribbean Multi-Country Office, key recommendations for its reinvigoration included institutional strengthening to include better representation; increased resource mobilisation for SDG coordination; strategic alignment of SDGs with key policies and strategies; strengthened data management aligned to the SDG framework; and enforced commitments to international agreements.

The face -to-face element of the workshop was held at the Bel Jou Hotel, Saint Lucia on two separate days for technical and ministerial personnel. Officials ranged from a cross-section of agencies including the Office of the Prime Minister, the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College; and respectively, the Department of: Audit, Gender Affairs, Economic Development, Physical Development, Health, Forestry, Fisheries, Water Resource Management, Tourism, Equity.

For further Information please contact:

Carol A. Gaskin, Programme Communications and Advocacy Officer

UN Resident Coordinator Office

carol-ann.gaskin@un.org ; 1(246)832-6110

Dr. Lorraine Nicholas, UN Country Coordination Officer – Saint Lucia

UN Resident Coordination Office

Lorraine.nicholas@un.org ; 1(758)730- 0771