UN Women ESARO Coordination Strategy 2026- 2029

The UN Women ESARO Coordination Strategy (2026–2029) outlines a comprehensive framework to strengthen system-wide coordination for gender equality and women’s empowerment across East and Southern Africa. It positions UN Women as a regional leader in convening, aligning, and supporting the United Nations system to deliver coherent, accountable, and results-driven action that advances the rights of women and girls. 

The strategy focuses on enhancing collaboration with Resident Coordinators and UN Country Teams through technical support, policy engagement, capacity building and joint programming. Core coordination mechanisms such as Gender Theme Groups, the UNCT-SWAP Gender Scorecard, and the Gender Equality Marker are leveraged to ensure consistency, accountability, and effective monitoring of gender equality commitments across countries. Six thematic priorities guide implementation: women’s economic empowerment; ending violence against women and girls; women, peace and security and humanitarian action; gender-responsive governance and leadership; climate change and disaster risk reduction; and gender data and statistics. 

These priorities reflect regional needs while aligning with global frameworks and commitments. The strategy adopts a phased approach, beginning with strengthening coordination systems and capacity, followed by scaling joint programmes, partnerships, and financing for greater impact. It also introduces a coordination model for countries without a physical UN Women presence, ensuring inclusive regional coverage. 

By 2029, the strategy aims to achieve stronger UN coordination, more gender-responsive programming, increased financing for gender equality, and enhanced partnerships. Ultimately, it seeks to accelerate progress toward sustainable development and ensure no woman or girl is left behind. This brief is a reflection of the strategy and synthesizes the contents of the overall strategy.