UN Energy Africa (UNEA), a subprogram of UN Energy, was established in May 2004 during the African Energy Ministers Meeting held in Nairobi. It is the principal interagency mechanism in the field of energy in Africa to help ensure coherence by sharing information, knowledge, experiences and good practices as well as initiating joint energy projects/programme. UNEA maintains an overview of ongoing and planned work within the UN system and helps developing synergies among independent initiatives at the national, sub regional, regional and continental level. UNEA has also the mandate to collectively engage non UN stakeholders (including the private sector) active in the field of sustainable energy.

Currently, UNEA’s active members are: UN-HABITAT, UNIDO, UNEP, UNESCO, UNDP, AfDB, African Union, NEPAD, IAEA and UNECA. UN-HABITAT currently holds the chair and UNIDO the co-chair. UNEA’s secretariat services are provided by UNECA and supported by UNIDO.