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2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: The Africa We Want

Agenda 2063 is Africa’s blueprint and overarching plan for transforming Africa into the global powerhouse of the future. Agenda 2063 is a shared strategic framework for inclusive growth and sustainable development developed through a people-driven process and was adopted, in January of 2015, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia by the 24th African Union (AU) Assembly of Heads of State and Government, following 18 months of extensive consultations with all formations of African society.

 

Agenda 2063 is anchored on the AU vision and is based on the seven aspirations derived from the consultations, namely:

  1. A prosperous Africa based on inclusive growth and sustainable development;
  2. An integrated continent, politically united, based on the ideals of Pan Africanism and the vision of Africa’s Renaissance;
  3. An Africa of good governance, respect for human rights, justice and the rule of law;
  4. A peaceful and secure Africa;
  5. An Africa with a strong cultural identity, common heritage, values and ethics;
  6. An Africa whose development is people-driven, relying on the potential of African people, especially its women and youth, and caring for children; and
  7. Africa as a strong, united, resilient and influential global player and partner.

 

In order to ensure effective implementation, the 24th Assembly of the Union further requested the African Union Commission (AUC) to finalize a draft First Ten Year Plan of Agenda 2063 for consideration and adoption by the June 2015 meetings of the AU Policy Organs. The document presents the First Ten-Year Implementation Plan for Agenda 2063. It builds upon the Agenda 2063 Framework Document adopted in January 2015, and seeks to accelerate Africa’s political, social, economic and technological transformation while continuing the Pan African drive for self-determination, freedom, progress and collective prosperity. Covering the period 2014-2023, it is the first of a series of five ten-year implementation plans to be developed to realize the vision of the “Africa We Want by 2063”.

 

Since the declaration of the decade of action in 2020, Uganda has made commendable progress in SDG coordination, implementation, monitoring and reporting. Uganda continues to demonstrate transformative efforts coupled with ambitious actions by all stakeholders to which have contributed to progress on most of the SDGs. Government of Uganda is currently drafting Uganda’s SDG progress report 2021 that will highlight progress in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Uganda as at end of 2021, and specifically i) provides a detailed analysis of the SDGs implementation progress as at 2021; and ii) reviews the progress made on the implementation of the six recommended actions in 2020 VNR report. The report brings together the latest data and highlights progress made on SDGs in regards to coordination, implementation, monitoring and reporting at national and local government levels. The report indicates that progress has remained uneven and that COVID-19 has slowed down the gains made on some of the SDGs.

 

Additionally, Government of Uganda along with other Member States participated in the 8th session of the Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development (ARFSD-8) and Africa Regional VNR-VLR Workshop that took place from 3rd -5th March 2022 in Kigali, Rwanda under the theme “Building forward better: a green, inclusive and resilient Africa poised to achieve the 2030 Agenda and Agenda 2063”. The Forum was critical not only in providing a collaborative framework for achieving inclusive and people-centered sustainable development in the region but also establishing a platform for peer learning including on Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) and Voluntary Local Review (VLRs) by subnational entities.

 

The key issues emerging from the Forum included the following:

  1. Given the magnitude of post-pandemic financial needs in areas such as infrastructure and health, African governments need to work in partnership with the private sector and international players such as the United Nations and multilateral banks to meet these urgent challenges.
  2. Governments should become enablers, not competitors, in creating a conducive environment for the private sector. To that end, empowering the private sector is vital, to enable Africa to take ownership of its development.
  3. Domestic resource mobilization is critical for sustainable development. Africa needs to address the issue of its liquidity crisis with a sense of urgency, recognizing its multiplier effect in supporting countries’ risk profile and boosting their credibility.
  4. African Governments should identify de-risking mechanisms to support the development of small and medium-sized enterprises and to lower interest rates.
  5. To reduce the cost of borrowing and to lower bank risks, African countries should adopt innovative measures such as innovative schemes including movable collateral registers and blended finance, a track record of credit information in support of small and medium-sized enterprises, and the provision of credit guarantees by policymakers.
  6. Governments should undertake robust reforms on domestic markets to stimulate private sector development and access to finance in an inclusive manner.
  7. Since commodity dependence is a constraint and a risk, African countries are urged to switch to value addition and manufacturing to build forward better and reduce resource dependence.

 

The United Nations High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) on sustainable development 2023, was organized by the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) under the theme “Accelerating the recovery from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at all levels”. It was held from 10th to 20th July, 2023 at the UN Headquarters, New York.

 

 

The Forum discussed and provided recommendations on the following areas for consideration at the summit in September 2023:

  1. Overcoming the crises, driving transformation for the SDGs and leaving no one behind;
  2. Financing our crisis response and investing in the SDGs;
  3. Science, technology and innovation: Triggering transformation and sustaining a science driven recovery;
  4. Transformation from the ground up: Acting at local level;
  5. Small Island Developing States: From recovery to resilience in the face of multiple shocks;
  6. African countries, Least Developed Countries and Landlocked Developing Countries: Turning the tide, regaining lost ground and embarking on the road to the SDGs;
  7. Overcoming middle-income countries' challenges in advancing the 2030 Agenda;
  8. Perspectives from Major Groups and the other Stakeholders at the mid-point of the SDGs;
  9. Goal 6: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all;
  10. Goal 7.: Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all;
  11. Goal 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization;
  12. Goal 11: Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable; and
  13. Goal 17: Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development.
  14. Strengthening UN System Institutions for Resilient Sustainable Development; and
  15. Overcoming ‘short-termism’ to secure a better future: Long-term trends and scenarios on crisis response and recovery, towards the full implementation of the SDGs.

Key Messages from the HLP Forum

  1. Progress towards most of the SDGs is off track amidst the severe financial, energy, food and humanitarian crises triggered by the geopolitical tension in Ukraine. The tension further compounded the continuing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the long-standing climate emergency, against the backdrop of a worsening macro-economic situation in many countries.
  2. Strong political will – matched with technologies, resources and knowledge now available – can enable a breakthrough to a better future.
  3. The need to enact a Rescue Plan for People and Planet through fundamental shifts in commitment, international solidarity, financing and quick action to get back on track by focusing on five key areas including:

 

  1. Transformative action: Heads of State and Government to renew their commitment to seven years of accelerated, sustained and transformative action to deliver on the promise of the SDGs;
  2. Leave no one behind: Governments must advance concrete, integrated and targeted policies to leave no one behind and end the war on nature, with a particular focus on advancing the rights of women and girls, and empowering the most vulnerable;
  3. SDG delivery: National and sub-national capacity, accountability and public institutions must be strengthened to deliver accelerated SDG progress;
  4. An SDG Stimulus for developing countries: Member States are urged to endorse and deliver $500 billion per year in accessible, affordable and long-term financing for countries requiring assistance between now and 2030; and
  5. UN Development System: Member States must continue to boost capacity of the UN development system – and of multilateralism more generally – to address SDG gaps and emerging global challenges.
  1. Developing countries are grappling with an unprecedented rise in external debt levels, underscoring the urgent need for debt relief and financial assistance with a focus on SDGs, human rights, gender, justice and climate vulnerabilities at the core;
  2. Need to reform the global financial architecture with new allocation of Special Drawing Rights to fund the climate and SDG Agenda, distributed based on real vulnerabilities, and not based on the IMF participation quota.
  3. Limited funding timely, accurate and high-quality data to tackle a multitude of crises, using statistics.
  4. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global Partnership for Sustainable Development.