The UN Country Team on 21 October 2014 held a working breakfast with the press corps in Abidjan to discuss UN support to Cote d'Ivoire programmes on political and administrative governance, security reform, justice, human rights, national reconciliation and the economy during the 2013 and 2014 period.

The meeting brought together the UN Resident Coordinator and Resident Representative of the UN Development Programme, Mbaye Babacar Cisse who is also the UN Humanitarian Coordinator as well as heads of UN agencies in Cote d'Ivoire.

The meeting took place ahead of celebrations to mark UN Day on24 October in Bouake and which is expected to focus on the theme: "United in action for an inclusive and sustainable growth in Cote d'Ivoire."

During the working breakfast with the press, Mr. Cisse explained that the UN support is at two levels: one consisting in the drawing up of policies and strategies and the other in direct assistance to community projects aimed improving the welfare of people, especially vulnerable persons.



Speaking about government efforts in these domains, he made an appeal for these efforts to continue so that growth can have an impact on the population. "It is important to ensure that this growth is inclusive," the Resident Coordinator said.

On the issue of security reform, he said, it was one of the major challenges the UN was working on. "There is some achievement. When one considers progress made in this domain, we have reason to think we are on the right track."



Mr. Cisse stressed the importance of employment for young people, who, he said, remain a major challenge to the country. "We are reflecting on a plan of action that could be put in place to reinforce achievements in matters of youth employment," he said.



It would be recalled that the UN Country Team has disbursed CFA 63 billion francs (126 million USD) to support Cote d'Ivoire programmes of political, administrative, security, judicial and economic governance for the 2013-2014 period.



The meeting was organized by the UN Communication Group in collaboration with the Network of Women Journalists and Communication Professionals.