In recent years, the UN System has emerged as one of the major pillars of international support for the AU and NEPAD programme. The nature and scope of that support has broadened in the past few years, encompassing a variety of activities including technical assistance for institutional development, capacity-building, project development, resource mobilisation and advocacy.

The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) is an important continental partner, both in its capacity as a UN institution with a regional mandate, and as an African development institution. NPCA benefits from ongoing UNECA capacity building support and this is envisaged to continue throughout the period of this Business Plan. A Memorandum of Understanding guides the partnership between NPCA and UNECA. Major cooperation areas include Knowledge Management, Communication, and Strategic Direction and Management. The African Peer Review Secretariat (APRM) continental Secretariat also continues to benefit from UNECA support.

The Regional Coordination Mechanism in Africa (RCM-Africa) among UN agencies working for Africa, convened by UNECA, will continue to be a platform for engaging with the UN System. Indeed, the AUC, NPCA, and the RECs now form an integral part of the RCM. The regional consultations have established nine thematic clusters around UN support for AU and the NEPAD programme. These clusters, which broadly correspond to the policy priorities of NEPAD, are: advocacy and communications; agriculture; food security and rural development; environment; population and urbanisation; science and technology; social and human development; industry, trade and market access; infrastructure; peace and security; and governance. Overall, cluster activities are having a tangible impact on the implementation of key elements of the regional development agenda and on the institutional landscape in support of the AU and its NEPAD programme.

In addition, progress has been made towards the establishment of Sub-regional Coordination Mechanisms (SRCMs) to strengthen coordination of UN agencies at the sub-regional level as mandated by the General Assembly. In this regard, a subregional mechanism for the Central Africa subregion has become operational, and efforts are underway to establish a similar mechanism for Eastern and Southern Africa based on  harmonized multi-year programmes of collaboration between UNECA and the main RECs in the two subregions.

At the global level, the Office of the Special Adviser on Africa based at the UN Headquarters undertakes information sharing and advocacy activities to help mobilise support for the NEPAD agenda.