Africa boosted by sustainable goals
THE GLOBAL sustainable development goals (SDG) have been given a boost on the African continent as countries work towards achieving the 17 goals ahead of 2030.
This week, the Africa Sustainable Development Goals Index and Dashboards 2018 report, established by the SDG Centre for Africa which worked alongside the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, was launched. The report was revealed at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It was presented to all ambassadors and permanent representatives of the AU, UN agencies, government officials and other stakeholders. Hope Tumukunde Gasatura, ambassador of Rwanda, addressed officials from the AU member states, encouraging them to support the initiative and ideals carried out in the document.
In his address, director of the SDG African Centre, Dr Belay Begashaw, emphasised that Africa SDG Index was an effective tool that could be used by countries. He pointed out that it would allow them to better understand their challenges and use these to benchmark themselves against their peers in ascertaining levels of overall social and economic development.
“The Africa SDG Index and Dashboards is a call to action for African Union member states governments and a tool for inclusiveness,” added Begashaw.
The director-general further expressed gratitude to the AU Commissioner for economic affairs Dr Victor Harrison as well as members of the permanent representative committee for honouring the launch particularly before attending to their demanding schedules ahead of the AU summit set to take place in Mauritania next week.
During the launch, officials used the platform to embark on various discussions. They appreciated the initiative and outlined importance of equally putting in the same efforts towards Agenda 2063. Participants also made a clarion call that there be a precise role for academic institutions and what they need to do in order to realise achievements of the SDGs in Africa.
It was also discussed that these institutions utilise mechanisms that will have data to be used for monitoring and evaluating the SDG progress on the continent. Worth noting is that 51 African countries are included in the Africa SDG Index rank while country dashboards are available for the 54 African countries.
Meanwhile, those who attended the meeting included African ambassadors to Ethiopia, which is in the spotlight as it works on forging peace talks with Eritrea and also playing host to South Sudan’s rebel leader Kiir Machar over efforts aimed at ending the civil war. – Staff Reporter