3 ways the UN is supporting Peru to tackle the pandemic, protect the planet and leave no one behind

In a nutshell, there is no easy way around this new normal derived from the pandemic. 

But amid so many challenges, Peru has also given some important lessons. First, democracy is a pillar for sustainable development. This is particularly important to stress as we mark the International Day of Democracy, 15 September, only three months after Peru’s electoral process, indicative of a vibrant democracy. 

This should indeed be celebrated because our global context is particularly challenging. The pandemic has brought the entire world to its knees. It also highlighted previously existing challenges – even in the richest countries – such as inequality, exclusion, and prejudice.

Now more than ever, the world needs to deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). An acute transformational change is needed. The 2030 Agenda and the SDGs are our shared roadmap for achieving this. 

Peru has renewed its commitment to leave no one behind through a jointly agreed roadmap for SDG action with our UN team.  We have just launched the new Cooperation Framework (available in Spanish), an action plan for 2022-2026 with significant input from the Government, the private sector, academia and civil society as a whole. This framework is the most important planning and implementation tool for UN development activities in Peru.  

By 2026, people living in Peru are expected to have greater access to decent work and to a comprehensive social protection system that ensures universal access to health (including sexual and reproductive health), nutrition, food security, decent housing, basic income security and a care system, with a gender and human rights approach.   

As I coordinate a new generation of UN teams on the ground, I feel bound to cultivate a growth mindset that helps us turn challenges into new opportunities and optimize Peru’s steady progress towards 2030 by:   

1. Keep closing the strategy-execution gap    

The Cooperation Framework is the cornerstone for our joint efforts, redefining key actions and catalyzing our response pace to support Peru through post-pandemic recovery and in setting its pathway towards meeting the SDGs in more effective ways. In this challenging context, it must be more than a planning instrument, becoming a living document that guides implementation towards significant transformations.   

As an evidence-based instrument, the Cooperation Framework plays a central role for all of us to continue working together much more effectively. This roadmap will guide the work of 22 UN entities by establishing four strategic priorities—people’s well-being; environmental, climate change and disaster risk management; competitiveness and productivity; and effective democratic governance.    

These key priorities respond to the latest Common Country Analysis and are aligned with the 2030 Agenda, Peru’s 2050 Vision and the national public policies related to Peru’s National Agreement.   

Through strengthened governance, monitoring and evaluation, and reporting, the new framework should close the gap between strategy and execution and optimize the mobilization and allocation of resources for sustainable development, thanks to its evidence-based foundation and its people-first approach.   

2. Placing people first   

Greater transparency and accountability are not only enabling us to adjust our course of action based on evidence. All Cooperation Frameworks and UN Socio-Economic Response Plans—developed in 2020—have helped us identify vulnerable groups more clearly and increasingly involve them in our programme design processes. We are turning beneficiaries into change agents as people are the real wealth of nations.   

Our Common Country Analysis (available in Spanish) has allowed us to identify and analyze the groups most at risk of being left behind in Peru, and the main challenges that they face. These groups include the Afro-descendant population, human rights defenders, people with disabilities, indigenous peoples, LGTBIQ+ people, people deprived of liberty, the elderly, children and adolescents, young people, women from all backgrounds, refugees and migrants, domestic workers, and people living with HIV. In our CCA, we have also identified a few accelerators that could help the country drive progress on the SDG challenges we have identified. And, among those accelerators, one that stands out is addressing inequalities in a way that promotes equality of opportunity in any of the recommendations that are implemented.  

In response to the need to work with different approaches in a cross-cutting manner, our Cooperation Framework 2022-2026 is based on a -comprehensive approach that has guided design and will guide implementation, monitoring, follow-up and evaluation. It integrates six cross-cutting approaches (related to gender perspective, interculturalism, human-rights, life cycle, territory and resilience) and the principle of leaving no one behind.  

3. Implementing enhanced monitoring and reporting tools    

Streamlining our results-based way of working together has been possible thanks to the successful development and implementation of national and inter-agency analysis, programming, and planning tools, such as the Common Country Analysis and the Cooperation Framework and its related implementation documents.  

In particular, the new Common Country Analysis was developed in a highly participatory manner, and its updated analysis of the country context is enabling UN entities and partners to support the Government’s efforts—alongside society as a whole— in tackling structural and institutional challenges and addressing new issues that have emerged in the last five years and are shaping the prospects for sustainable development in this decade. All of which is helping strengthen our focus on the most vulnerable groups and those left behind.

Finally, as leaders, we ought to sustain our solid commitment to transparency, accountability, and oversight and our “all hands-on-deck” attitude towards the challenges ahead. Spearheading the implementation of the reform, responding, and recovering from the pandemic, and accelerating the nation’s progress towards 2030 is a collaborative endeavor. Are you up to advance with us in this joint quest?   

Written by Igor Garafulic, UN Resident Coordinator in Peru, with editorial and translation support by Carolina Lorenzo, Development Coordination Office, and the dedicated members of the UN Country Team in Peru and the UNIC/RCO. To learn more about the efforts of the UNCT team in Peru, visit https://peru.un.org/.