RFS Review II – THAC – The Human Aspect

Regional, national and sectoral strategies

Healthy Prosperity for Africa · RSF Review II · levels: regional, national and sectoral · first draft for discussion · October 2026

AU Agenda 2063 and UN Agenda 2030 set the frame. Decisions, budgets and implementation, however, happen in regional organisations, in capitals and in specialised agencies. This second RSF review – a systematic review of existing strategies – therefore reads fourteen strategies one step down the chain, at three levels – regional, national and sectoral – with the same lens of five functions and four conditions. Where they were publicly available, the full texts were read.

Each document was scored for each dimension: 0 not addressed · 1 mentioned · 2 anchored as a goal or measure · 3 measurable and secured (target or indicator, responsibility, and resources or monitoring). Parts that could not be read were marked “not checked” and left out of the count.

In short: the strategies strengthen systems – coordination and predictability rest on plans, budgets and indicators. Building trust has arrived as a goal, but is rarely measured. Empowering people after violence is the weakest point: repair is anchored in only two of twelve documents and measured in none.

At a glance

RSF dimension	Documents checked	Anchored (2–3)	Measurable (3)
Regulation	13	11	0
Coordination	12	12	5
Connection	13	9	1
Adaptation	11	8	2
Repair	12	2	0
Predictability	10	10	4
Reciprocity	10	7	2
Recognition	12	9	0
Social embeddedness	12	5	0

What we found

Planning is strong. Coordination, adaptation and predictability rest on planning laws, budgets, indicators and reporting duties.

Cohesion and trust have arrived. Recent national visions name social cohesion, citizens’ trust and participation as goals, some with measurable targets for citizens’ satisfaction and local participation. No explicit measure of trust between groups was identified in the material reviewed.

Reconciliation appears, but its implementation needs closer examination. Some plans refer to a reconciliation framework, transitional justice or a truth commission. In the material reviewed, no explicit reconciliation indicator or psychosocial component linked to reconciliation was identified. A separate review of the relevant policies and implementation programmes is needed to establish what exists beyond these development plans.

Traditional resources are recognised. Several strategies turn to elders, religious leaders and customary mediation to strengthen cohesion – natural partners for healing rooted in communities.

Mental health has global targets, but stays a health issue. The link to trust, legitimacy and security is rarely made.

What the initiative can contribute: no new goals, but ways to measure trust between groups, reconciliation and psychosocial recovery that countries can take into their own plans – using existing instruments first, such as Afrobarometer, the OECD guidelines on measuring trust, the Social Cohesion and Reconciliation Index (SCORE) and the IASC framework for mental health and psychosocial support.

How this reaches programmes and people: Five priorities →

Where the initiative can connect

Strategy	What it already aims for	Where healing can contribute
Somalia – National Transformation Plan 2025–2029	national cohesion guided by a National Reconciliation Framework; transitional justice and a planned truth commission; durable solutions for displaced people	indicators and a psychosocial component for reconciliation
Senegal – Vision 2050 and Masterplan 2025–2034	citizens’ trust in institutions, with targets for satisfaction and local participation by 2034; decentralisation	trust between groups, not only satisfaction with services
Tanzania – Development Vision 2050	peace and unity as a guiding principle; a national reconciliation commission has been announced	linking reconciliation with development
Kenya – Beyond Vision 2030 / Vision 2060	a development charter shaped through a nationwide dialogue with civil society, faith communities, women and youth	recognition and trust in the national conversation
ECOWAS – Vision 2050	human security, conflict prevention, social inclusion; core indicators in preparation	citizens at the centre of peace, and in the new indicators
IGAD – Regional Strategy 2026–2030	community resilience, social cohesion in refugee protection, peacebuilding with youth and women	healing as part of community resilience
COMESA – Mediation Strategy 2023–2030	mediation, a Committee of Elders, electoral and resource conflicts	healing alongside mediation
ECCAS – Strategic Plan	peaceful coexistence, social cohesion, women and youth in peace processes	youth and women as actors of healing
UN – declaration on mental health (2025)	150 million more people with access to mental health care by 2030	reconciliation and collective trauma
UNICEF – Strategic Plan 2026–2029	psychosocial support in health and child protection; humanitarian, development and peace work linked to social cohesion	young people as actors of healing

Strategies reviewed

Regional organisations

ECOWAS Vision 2050 (2022): five pillars – peace and security; governance and rule of law; economic integration; sustainable development; social inclusion. A manual of core indicators has been in preparation since March 2026.
IGAD Regional Strategy 2026–2030: validated in December 2025; implementation plan and results framework in preparation. The full text was not yet publicly available.
SADC Vision 2050 and Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan 2020–2030: peace, security and good governance as the foundation for development.
ECCAS Medium-term Strategic Plan 2021–2025 and COMESA Mediation Strategy 2023–2030: dialogue, early warning, mediation by elders, women and youth in peace.
EAC Vision 2050: next round. UMA and CEN-SAD: no current strategy found.

National development visions

Senegal – Sénégal 2050 (2024) and Masterplan 2025–2034: targets for 2034 include 80 % of citizens satisfied with public services and 60 % local citizen participation.
Somalia – National Transformation Plan 2025–2029: national cohesion guided by a National Reconciliation Framework; transitional justice and a planned truth commission; durable solutions for one million displaced people.
Tanzania – Development Vision 2050 (2025): dignity, peace and unity among its guiding principles; a national reconciliation commission was announced at the end of 2025.
Kenya – Beyond Vision 2030 / Vision 2060: national consultations since August 2026 with sixteen stakeholder groups.
Namibia – Sixth National Development Plan 2025/26–2029/30: public trust as a goal of a merit-based public service.

Global and sectoral frameworks

UN political declaration on noncommunicable diseases and mental health (December 2025): three targets for 2030, including 150 million more people with access to mental health care.
WHO Regional Office for Africa: regional mental health framework (2022) and progress report (2025).
UNICEF Strategic Plan 2026–2029: psychosocial support in health and child protection; humanitarian, development and peace work linked to social cohesion.
African Union: guideline on mental health and psychosocial support in conflict situations, described in AU reporting as validated, with approval by its policy organs pending.

Limits

This review reads documents, not practice; some could only be read in part, and “not found” means not found in the parts read. Facts and scores were checked twice with the same AI-assisted method. An independent second scoring and a review of the reading of national plans by African partners are still to come.

See Sources

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