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Implications of COVID-19 on the Multi-Year Appeal

Dear partners,

We hope you and your families are in good health and slowly adjusting to the new reality of working remotely and limited movement. The United Nations has put measures in place to safeguard staff and prevent the spread of COVID-19, including telecommuting, but the Organization is still at work, determined to deliver on its mandate.

DPPA, at UN headquarters and in the field, has adapted its operations in order to continue providing support to member States and partners. As Under-Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo tweeted following a video conference with the heads of our special political missions earlier this week, “In the face of COVID-19, and while taking adequate precautions, we remain focused on supporting countries in making and building peace and preventing violent conflict.” 

We are closely watching the impact of COVID-19 and government responses within individual countries, especially those in which we have SPMs deployed. As DPPA, we must approach this crisis with a prevention lens, and we are paying close attention to the impact of Covid-19 on fragile political transitions, such as Sudan, countries already facing a rapid deterioration of security, such as Burkina Faso and Niger, and of course those countries where we have been deployed and work in support of conflict resolution and sustaining peace, such as Afghanistan, Haiti, Iraq, Libya, Yemen, and others.

The COVID-19 crisis will have a significant impact on DPPA’s operations, but the need for our political analysis and technical expertise on conflict prevention, mediation, peacebuilding and sustaining peace will remain unchanged, if not become even more critical. Request for our services will undoubtedly be high in the coming weeks and months, as we witness the full scale of COVID-19’s impact on the global economy and its social and political implications.

While the priorities and commitments outlined in DPPA’s Strategic Plan and in the Multi-Year Appeal (MYA) remain unchanged, a portion of our activities will need to be adjusted in the near future. The Donor Relations team is in close contact with colleagues at headquarters and in the field to assess the extent to which this crisis will impact the delivery of our MYA portfolio. A Quarterly Review of our MYA portfolio is about to be conducted and will track progress in the delivery of MYA projects and undertake the necessary adjustments. In addition, we will review how the principles of Enterprise Risk Management can help us to potentially mitigate the risks to our staff and to our delivery. COVID-19 will also create new opportunities for projects, and we are already exploring innovative ideas to continue delivering our activities under the MYA, albeit in different ways.

We will keep you regularly informed, and please do not hesitate to reach out to us with any questions or concerns. In these difficult times, we hope to be able to count on your support.

Stay safe and best regards,

The Donor Relations Team

 

DPPA is pleased to present a report on the impact of Covid-19 on DPPA and on the MYA to showcase its role and activities since the pandemic. MYA funding helps support initiatives by SRSGs and Special Envoys in answering the Secretary-General’s call for a global ceasefire. The MYA, with its Rapid Response window is designed to support new opportunities and crisis-related needs in record time. DPPA continues to deploy its tools - mediation, electoral assistance, inclusive political analysis - to provide political, technical and operational support to its partners. MYA funding helps support initiatives by SRSGs and Special Envoys in answering the Secretary-General’s call for a global ceasefire. With competition for resources intensifying, the MYA is more important than ever for our work.