Pandemic-related restrictions limited physical interactions and in-person contacts at all levels and slowed down some of the activities planned for the year. Several in-country missions had to be postponed, affecting the provision of technical expertise and support services. Virtual meeting platforms, however, allowed staff to continue the delivery of most aspects of support.

The United Nations entities benefited from considerable government funding during the year as well as financial support from other development partners. Nevertheless, further resource mobilization efforts and access to innovative financing are required to meet the estimated funding gap for the full implementation of the SCF 2021-2024.

Strong national committment is essential to achieving significant, long-lasting development results. Appropriate institutional arrangements and mechanisms, including multi-stakeholder technical teams, can also facilitate the process. Consequently, strengthening the dialogue with the Government and identifying additional opportunities for improved coordination across development partners will remain key to further progress.

Interlinkages between development activities and the complexity of development issues will also require the consolidation of efforts towards improving coordination within the United Nations development system to maximize its effectiveness and efficiency. Previous steps undertaken in this regard have proven successful, providing the foundation for greater synergies and collaboration among United Nations entities.

Civil society engagement in United Nations activities can be further strengthened, especially in relation to issues on the protection and promotion of human rights. The establishment and consolidation of partnerships with private sector companies as key development actors also present an opportunity for the implementation of a "society across the board" approach to sustainable development in Bahrain.

Coordinated and targeted background briefs backed by solid evidence and data are an effective way to engage key stakeholders on specific issues and ensure that development programming is appropriately addressing existing needs. Therefore, consolidated efforts are required to ensure the greater availability of timely data, particularly disaggregated data, for tracking the achievement of SDGs.