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In Mauritania, 13 women die each week at the time of pregnancy, childbirth or post-birth. Although the maternal mortality curve is beginning to move in the right direction, reproductive health indicators remain a concern. The maternal mortality rate is 582 deaths per 100,000 live births - one of the highest in the region. Those most at-risk are the poor, illiterate women from rural areas with low access to maternal health services, subject to socio-cultural prejudices, adolescents and youth.

In the world of development, UNDAF is one acronym you must know if you are interested in the UN’s work. The UN Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) provides a multi- year strategic plan for the UN’s work in a country. UNDAFs are critical for the UN at the country level to channel coherent support to governments and partners to achieve results for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Given the newness of Agenda 2030, the 2016 UNDAFs were one of a kind: they set the benchmark on new trends and practices to illustrate the role of the UN in supporting governments to achieve sustainable development goals. Last year, a small team in the UN Development Operations Coordination Office embarked on a review of 27 UNDAFs that will be implemented over the next 5 years to see what we could learn

“How do you eat an elephant? One spoonful at a time.” This saying applies to any undertaking whose size and proportions are immense.  Where to start is daunting. For me, the Sustainable Development Goals — an ambitious set of goals agreed to by UN Members States that establishes milestones of growth & equality within the limits of the planet — are the elephant.

In 2016, the UN in Zambia launched the first Sustainable Development Partnership Framework (2016-2021), a strategic document to address some of the multi-dimensional development challenges faced by this emerging middle income country.

A young man in dark glasses holding an accordion shuffled on stage in Kumanovo during an event organized to celebrate the inclusion of persons with disabilities in the local community. “Mother, do you remember me?” he sang. The haunting song, of his own composition, told of his abandonment by his family solely because he was born blind.

How can we as the UN tap into the ideas, information and possible solutions which are distributed among many partners, the private sector, and the two