Gender equality: UN system refines its coordination in Yaoundé

The Gender Thematic Group (GTG) of the United Nations system convened in Yaoundé on June 25-26, 2026, for its annual retreat. The meeting aimed to enhance coordination and strengthen the integration of gender equality principles into Cameroon's public policies and humanitarian interventions.

United Nations Resident Coordinator Issa Sanogo opened the proceedings, with Marie-Pierre Raky Chaupin, UN Women's Resident Representative, presiding. This high-level attendance underscored the importance of the GTG mechanism in promoting gender mainstreaming within the UN Country Team.

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The members of the Gender Thematic Group of the United Nations System met on June 25 and 26, 2026, and reviewed their actions and set priorities for the year 2026 with the objective of strengthening the integration of gender equality into public policies and humanitarian interventions in Cameroon.

The retreat served as a platform to evaluate the group's achievements over the past year and to develop its work plan for 2026. Participants deliberated on strategies to bolster the consideration of gender in development programs and humanitarian responses, ensuring alignment with both national priorities and international commitments.

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This presence reflects the importance given to this coordination mechanism responsible for promoting gender mainstreaming within the Country Team.

Discussions also included monitoring performance indicators from the UNCT SWAP Scorecard. Furthermore, inter-agency groups focused on monitoring and evaluation, as well as communication, received capacity-building sessions on institutionalizing a gender approach within the UN's cooperation framework cycle. The retreat also addressed staff well-being with a mental health awareness session.

Concluding the retreat, GTG members reaffirmed their commitment to fostering collective, coordinated, and inclusive action to accelerate progress toward gender equality between women and men in 2026.

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At the end of the work, the members of the GTG reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening collective, coordinated and inclusive action in order to accelerate progress for equality between women and men in 2026.