Gabon’s UN funding in 2025: can 10.5 billion CFA francs deliver real change?

In a rare direct exchange with the media, the United Nations System in Gabon has laid out how it spent its 2025 budget — and the conversation quickly turned to a pressing question: does 10.5 billion CFA francs actually translate into better lives for ordinary citizens? The resident coordinator, Fatou Aminata Lo, met journalists for the first time since taking office in January, using the occasion to present the annual activity report and to push for a stronger partnership with the press ahead of the next cooperation framework (2028–2032).

Flanked by agency heads at the UN common house, Lo framed the UN’s role in broader terms: “Our contribution is not measured solely by the number of projects we implement. It is also measured by our ability to bring actors together and to help turn public policies into concrete results for the people.”

Over the course of 2025, a total of 10.5 billion CFA francs (approximately $18.5 million) was mobilised through 21 UN entities and nearly 300 staff members, 70% of whom are Gabonese nationals. The spending was channelled into three main priorities: promoting good governance and human rights, supporting the shift toward a green and blue economy, and advancing equal opportunity and social inclusion.

During the Q&A, journalists pressed on sensitive points. They questioned the UN system’s actual influence on the ground and asked for clearer evidence of how these programmes affect people facing urgent socio-economic hardships. The exchange was frank, with no evasive answers, and it set the stage for a more transparent and closely coordinated relationship going forward.