Economist in Sri Lanka

Since early 2022, Sri Lanka is facing the worst economic crisis in its recent history. Dave Blackman is the economist in the Resident Coordinator’s Office in Sri Lanka, and has been a constant resource for the UN support to deliver the needed economic, social and humanitarian response. Amidst the crisis, Dave is working across the UN country team to ensure the UN provides coherent support to the Government by developing UN-wide emergency service offers to the Government on behalf of all UN entities. His role in early-warning monitoring and socioeconomic analysis work has helped guide the strategic direction and coherence of UN’s collective support to the Government, – particularly where it works with other multilateral donors. As a UN focal point for the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund in Sri Lanka, Dave is supporting the UN country team to identify channels through which macroeconomic instability may translate to economic and human development challenges and SDG regression, and promoting the shared understanding of the UN country team of the work of the International Financing Institutions (IFIs), their lending instruments, and appropriate entry points for joined-up UN-IFI programming over the next 12-18 months.