With the objectives of training and raising awareness about the importance of financing for sustainable development in Ecuador, a series of online seminars were launched on September 21, organized by the UN in Ecuador through its program 'Financing the SDGs and targeting chronic child malnutrition', with the participation of the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the National Secretariat of Planning.
Lena Savelli, UN Resident Coordinator in Ecuador, expressed the relevance of the link between national planning and budgeting to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). On the other hand, she highlighted the commitment acquired in terms of joint work and the need to add initiatives from multiple actors in society: "In this framework, the development of training spaces such as the one being launched today contributes to strengthening national capacities to promote participation and the support of more actors towards sustainable development".
By his side, Jairon Merchán, national secretary of the National Planning Secretariat, highlighted the efforts made to align national planning with the SDGs, which will make possible to achieve national and global development goals: "Today more than ever, it is necessary to deepen in the link between national planning and the SDGs, but also in the budget needed to develop this planning".
José Gabriel Castillo, Vice Minister of Economy, highlighted the effort made in the eradication of chronic child malnutrition, a problem that has a high impact in Ecuador and that is the main focus of the efforts of the UN Program. To reduce this issue, the vice minister claimed that "we need a coordinated action by social and political actors and related institutions because the multidimensional nature of the problem of malnutrition avoids reaching solutions without responding to the structural problems of poverty".
Representatives, officials and members of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the National Planning Secretariat and the Technical Secretariat Ecuador Grows Without Child Malnutrition participated in the session of the first seminar. This session addressed the bases of financing for development, the alignment of national planning with the SDGs, planning under the Results Management System for Development and linking the budget with the SDGs. For this last topic, technical staff from both UNDP and the Mexican Ministry of Finance shared their experience with the attendees.
This was the first of a cycle of four seminars, which are structured in a modular way and will be held between September 2021 and April 2022, combining content derived from the results of the joint program and lessons learned from international experience.
Program to secure resources for the 2030 Agenda and the end of chronic child malnutrition in Ecuador.
The Program 'Financing the SDGs and targeting chronic child malnutrition' is implemented by UNDP, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Food Programme (WFP).
This initiative, which will be implemented over 2 years, and with a budget of around US$1.4 million, is supported and financed by the Joint United Nations Fund for Sustainable Development Goals (SDG Fund) and aims to improve the management of sustainable development financing in Ecuador and leverage both public and private resources for the SDGs. Specifically, the strengthened financial structure will address one of the country's main health problems, chronic child malnutrition, which affects 1 in 4 children in Ecuador.
