Partnerships Officer and Team Lead in Congo

A key role of the Resident Coordinator’s Office is to bring development partners together so their collective value is more than the sum of their parts. To this end, Mirhame Mshangama, the Partnerships Officer and currently Team Lead a.i., in Congo supported the Resident Coordinator in setting up the Development Partners Forum, as a formal platform between the Government and development actors in the country, to optimize the Official Development Assistance to effectively respond to the Government’s needs.  

Mirhame ensured effective communication and buy-in from all partners, including at the highest levels of government. The Forum was officially launched in 2021, and is now operational, co-chaired by the Resident Coordinator and the representatives from the European Union, the African Development Bank and with each of its seven sectoral groups chaired by a development partner. Thanks to the platform, key priorities of the country such as climate change, health and education are addressed jointly by relevant development partners, with all having a better overview of what each is doing in the country. Mirhame is now exploring options with the UN Global Compact office for a private sector forum in the Republic of Congo to advance partnerships for sustainable development, a key priority for the government under its new National Development Plan 2022-2026.