Africa is a dynamic continent. 1.4 billion people. 54 countries. Enormous diversity in natural and built landscapes, animal and plant life, cultures, cuisines, histories, languages, politics, economies. Full of people with innovation, bold dreams and great minds. It’s also a place of some challenges – poverty, climate change, violence, disease – that prevent many Africans from living in the peace and opportunity they deserve as a birthright. These challenges call for adaptive solutions. That’s why UNDP seeks to understand how to harness people power and partnerships to have an impact at scale. We work on policies and systems that affect thousands or even millions of people for the better. We look for leverage points such as leaders, organizations and communities that can in turn have animpact on many more people. We tie together work in different areas of UNDP to create better synergies. And we serve as a hub to help connect our teams and partners with each other and the resources they need to do their excellent work. Through it all, we never lose sight of the individual people at the centre of our mission. In the following pages, you’ll see how our big thinking applies in each of our four priority areas.