UN General Assembly
2020

As the COVID-19 pandemic makes our timely attainment of the objectives of the 2030 agenda unlikely, it is imperative that we respond cooperatively to the pandemic in a way that will put nations back on track to accelerate progress towards achieving the SDG. Reduced economic activity, revenue losses, budget constraints and the huge cost of managing the pandemic are adversely affecting our efforts to achieve sustainable development, strengthen resilience, and walk out of fragility. The implementation of Sierra Leone’s Medium-Term National Development Plan (2019-2023), that is aligned to both the SDGs and the AU’s Agenda 2063, is faced with challenges of generating required domestic revenue to fund projects and other sundry capacity and management constraints. We must also strengthen our public health institutions, and where we rebuild, build back better. In this regard, Sierra Leone fully supports current efforts by this Organization and International Financial Institutions, and continues to call for emergency debt relief and standstill mechanisms from International Financial Institutions.