Cotonou, Benin, 23 September 2024 (ECA) - The Macroeconomics, Finance, and Governance Division (MFGD), in collaboration with the Sub-Regional Office for West Africa of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), recently conducted a hands-on training workshop on the Integrated Planning and Reporting Toolkit (IPRT). This innovative toolkit, developed by the ECA, is designed to help African countries interrogate the alignment of the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the African Union’s Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want, into their national development plans, while also tracking and reporting progress on both agendas. Held from September 23 to 27 in Cotonou, Benin, the event brought together participants from key Ministries of Benin. The training successfully met all key objectives, including equipping participants with the skills needed to effectively use the IPRT.
The workshop was held in response to the request by the Government of Benin for additional support on the IPRT, after the initial IPRT training in 2021 which focused on digitalizing its national development plan (NDP) through the IPRT. This workshop aimed to strengthen the Government of Benin’s capacities to use the IPRT in assessing the alignment of its NDP with global and continental agendas, tracking NDP progress, and aligning national priorities with financial frameworks through the Integrated National Financing Framework (INFF) module.
In her opening remarks, Ms. Ngone Diop, Director of the ECA’s Sub-Regional Office for West Africa, emphasized ECA’s commitment to supporting Benin in implementing its development plans. She noted that “with effective monitoring using the IPRT, Benin is well-positioned to achieve its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).”
Jelena Katic, Head of the Resident Coordinator Office in Benin, expressed her gratitude for ECA's ongoing support in helping Benin advance toward the SDGs and Agenda 2063. She reaffirmed the UN’s continued commitment to assisting Benin in implementing these agendas, highlighting that “this training will significantly accelerate the country’s progress.”
By the end of the workshop, participants expressed enthusiasm to continue utilizing the IPRT and committed to advocating for its use within their institutions. They also planned to further their efforts in implementing the INFF module.
A major achievement of the training was the alignment of Benin’s National Development Plan (NDP) with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the African Union’s Agenda 2063, and the Doha Programme of Action for Least Developed Countries. ECA remains committed to supporting African countries in developing technology-enabled, future-ready National Development Plans, as well as sectoral and subnational plans. Additionally, ECA will assist in building robust monitoring and evaluation frameworks and advancing the implementation of Integrated National Financing Frameworks.
For further information on the workshop and IPRT tool, contact Oyebanke Abejirin at oyebanke.abejirin@un.org or visit https://iprt.uneca.org/.
Issued by:
Communications Section
Economic Commission for Africa
PO Box 3001
Addis Ababa
Ethiopia
Tel: +251 11 551 5826
E-mail: eca-info@un.org