The Ministry of Planning And Economic Development (MoPED), UN Women Sierra Leone and the Ministry of Gender and Children’s Affairs have concluded a two-day technical consultative meeting at the Atlantic Hotel, Freetown on November 29-30, 2023

The meeting brought together key stakeholders from Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) on the first day and Trade Unions and the Private Sector on the second day on strategic point’s discussion with central focus on gender mainstreaming and women empowerment, shaping the trajectory of the country’s development in the formulation of the New Medium-Term National Development Plan (MTNDP) for 2024-2030.

It was noted that,the primary objective of the meetings was to review the Advanced Draft of the MTNDP 2024-2030 with a specific emphasis on integrating gender and women’s issues into the plan.

The Minister of Planning and Economic Development Kenyeh Barlay, expressed gratitude to UN Women for their support and highlighted the importance of the Technical Consultative Meetings in enriching the MTNDP. She encouraged stakeholders to pay attention to the Strategic Objectives, key targets, and policy areas outlined in the document to guide future policies and interventions and highlighted the comprehensive coverage of the draft document, addressing core strategic issues for economic growth, social inclusion, job opportunities, and environmental sustainability.

She emphasized the cross-cutting nature of gender issues, anchoring them in Human Capital Development and the Big 5 Game Changers of the Government and SDGs Goal 5 Gender Equality.

“As you may have noted, this draft document has a comprehensive coverage of the core strategic issues for promoting economic growth, social inclusion and job opportunities, as well as ensuring the environmental sustainability of the country. Despite Gender issues being cross-cutting, it is anchored in the Human Capital Development in the Big 5 two Game Changers of the Government and SDGs Goal 5 Gender Equality”. She stated.