Statement of the UN Resident Coordinator at the Workshop for the Review of the COVID-19 Emergency Response and Recovery Plan

A very good morning to all partners, including those joining us online.

It is with the utmost humility, profound solidarity and a sense of belonging – we are one family - that I address you today on behalf of the UN Development System in Eswatini, ahead of this workshop to review the COVID-19 Emergency Response Plan. I  wish to extend the continued support of the UN to all Humanitarian Partners and Eswatini recovery going forward.

The UN family continues to respond as ONE UN in Eswatini in three critical areas of action:

1. Tackling the health emergency;
2.  Addressing and mitigating the socio economic and humanitarian impacts of the pandemic; and
3. 3) Putting in place the mechanisms to recover better from COVID-19.

Since April, the UN, in collaboration with NDMA, has been hosting humanitarian partners meetings aimed at developing a collective, integrated and coherent Humanitarian Response to COVID-19 in Eswatini.

A total of five meetings have been held so far since April 2020. Progress has been made in information-sharing among the sectors, in common analysis, mutual understanding of gaps and challenges, joint programming and delivery, and in the mapping out of partners, programmes and resources through the 4W tool. In this process, we have learned that we are at our best and fully empowered when we are willing to share knowledge, best practices and networks openly with each other, guided by the very same objectivesto save lives, save livelihoods and ensure that no person, no community and no group of this great nation is left behind.

Despite concerns stemming from  the stubborn rise in COVID-19 cases, we are confident that we will get through this crisis. However,  we can only do so if we act together, in solidarity, in unity of purpose, in a strategic and very decisive manner, as the circumstances on the ground may allow us to proceed.

In the past, Eswatini has faced very bravely the HIV/AIDS pandemic, natural disasters such as the severe El Nino drought in 2015/2016 and continues to wrestle with TB, diabetes and various forms of cancers. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic is new to the world; coronavirus is an uncharted territory and unprecedented in the human history.  

It is therefore no surprise that, despite the recent development of the existing Emergency Response Plan, including for health emergencies, we are now initiating a review of the plan and its companion pieces at the sectoral level. Clearly, there were a lot of unknowns at the time of the development and the early implementation of the current response.

Taking this into account  and moving now from an emergency response mode to a short – medium term recovery phase, partners – supported in this endeavor by NDMA (thank you CEO Dlamini) - have stressed the need to re-evaluate the current emergency response plan.

As the country prepares to emerge from its State of Emergency and adapt to the global ‘new normal’ with COVID-19 still at our doors, with more sectors of the economy re-opening, it is critical that we  scale up our efforts to ensure that the Kingdom recovers from this pandemic, to position itself on the road to a more equitable and inclusive nation driven by compassion, solidarity and dignity for all.

Indeed, recovery is an opportunity to address inequality, gaps in social protection systems, the climate crisis and the many other fragilities that have been exposed. Issues of sustainable food systems, gender equality, stronger social safety nets, universal health coverage and an international system that can deliver will need to be addressed.

In his remarks at a press conference to mark the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations Charter on Tuesday, the UN Secretary-General, Mr Antonio Guterres, called upon the world to ensure that countries do not return to where they were before COVID-19 struck.

The recovery must lead to building more inclusive and sustainable societies that are more resilient in the face of pandemics, climate change and other global challenges.

This is a call to action for all of us involved in the humanitarian response to craft a clear recovery plan that ensures that Eswatini recovers better. Our roadmap remains the 2030 agenda and the sustainable development goals. We remain in the Decade of Action and our goal is to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic to pursue our quest to achieve the SDGs.

I wish all of us fruitful and engaging discussions during this workshop which will culminate in a recovery  plan aligned to Eswatini needs and aspirations and that leaves no one behind. The plan shall be particularly responsive to the needs of the most vulnerable populations, including the elderly, young people, people with disability, LGBTQI, PLHIV, rural poor and many others.

I thank you.