Addis Ababa, 10 December 2025 (ECA): In a significant effort to promote transparency and efficiency, the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) is organizing its year-end Accountability and Programme Performance Review Meeting (APPRM) from 8 to 12 December 2025 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, focusing on evaluating the organisation's performance throughout 2025 and strategizing for impactful initiatives and results in 2026.

This APPRM is significant, coming amid recent calls for UN reforms to improve efficiency. The meeting is under the theme "Sustaining Gains: Taking Stock of Results in 2025 and Planning for Strategic Impact in 2026," which emphasises the importance of maintaining progress and preparing for future challenges.

The end-of-year APPRM serves as a key accountability tool, allowing the ECA to assess its progress against the targets outlined in its 2025 Annual Business Plan (ABP) and identify areas for growth and improvement.

During the event, each of the ECA teams, including divisions and programmes, will showcase their achievements over the past year and share their strategic plans for the upcoming year. Key discussions will focus on enhancing cross-divisional collaboration, exploring emerging opportunities, and reviewing effective resource utilisation. The meeting will include presentations, strategic dialogues, and interactive question-and-answer sessions.

Key expected outcomes of the APPRM include a clearer understanding of ECA's significant contributions toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Agenda 2063. Additionally, it aims to reinforce the commitment to sound programme planning and provide strategic recommendations for budget optimisation.

Executive Secretary of ECA, Claver Gatete, opened the meeting by thanking staff for their dedication and emphasising the importance of high performance and accountability in advancing the commission's goal of supporting African countries, notwithstanding the challenges occasioned by the recent UN Reforms.

He admonished the staff to "work harder because next year is crucial for delivery... you need to put in greater efforts and perform better, mindful of the reforms in the UN," emphasising the growing demand for support from member states and highlighting the vital role ECA staff could play in that regard.

Said Adejumobi, Director of the Strategic Planning, Oversight, and Results Division (SPORD), the division responsible for organising the APPRM, highlighted the Commission's corporate and divisional performance, key achievements in 2025, and the opportunities that lie ahead in 2026. He noted that, to achieve better, more impactful results in 2026, the institution will adopt a thematic approach aligned with the Commission's strategic focus areas in its work. This will, expectedly, accelerate the realisation of the goals of Agenda 2063 and Agenda 2030.  

He noted that to ensure success in the commission's future programmes, "the ECA will adopt realistic, aligned work plans and aim to close performance gaps in 2026. It will also merge its Medium-Term Programme Framework and Business Plan into a single Medium-Term Integrated Programme and Resource Mobilisation Framework," to ensure that programme planning and implementation are closely aligned with resource mobilisation and utilisation for effective performance," Adejumobi added.

Said Adejumobi announced that the ECA has "identified value chains, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), and technology as key cross-cutting issues to be focused upon in 2026".

Issued by:
Communications Section
Economic Commission for Africa
PO Box 3001
Addis Ababa
Ethiopia
Tel: +251 11 551 5826
E-mail: [email protected]

Source: UNECA