UN, AU Call for Stronger Collaboration to Address Africa's Challenges to Achieve SDGs

Addis Ababa, April 23/2024 (ENA)  The United Nations and the African Union have called for stronger partnership and collaboration to address challenges facing Africa in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

The 10th Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development opened in Addis Ababa today. 

Speaking on the occasion, UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said Africa has been facing multiple crises, including debt increase by 183 percent, that is roughly four times higher than the region's growth rate in (U.S.) dollar terms since 2010.

According to her, the total debt service accounted for a staggering 47.5 percent of government revenue in Sub-Saharan Africa last year. 

The UN Deputy Secretary-General noted that “the gap is enormous. An additional 4 trillion USD must be invested every year to 2030 to have a chance of achieving the SDGs globally.” 

 

This forum came ahead of a crucial international conference in September, presenting an opportunity for African leaders to advocate for a more equitable global financial system and secure increased investments and debt relief, it was learned. 

Recall that UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for an SDG stimulus of at least 500 billion USD a year to scale up affordable long term financing for developing countries. 

Amina insists that Africa's leadership and collective voice will be essential to make the stimulus a reality. 

 

African Union Commission (AUC) Deputy Chairperson, Monique Nsanzabaganwa, on her part reiterated Africa's unwavering commitment to Agenda 2063.

She recalled that the AUC adopted the second ten-year implementation plan in February, acknowledging both the successes of the first decade and the need to address emerging challenges and opportunities.

The second plan seeks to address the emerging challenges and tap the emerging opportunities to accelerate the implementation of the Agenda.  

According to her, domestic resource mobilization and stronger partnerships are key to achieving the development goals. 

However, she stated that many African governments have been facing self-inflicted and external challenges, and these challenges require stronger UN-AU partnership. 

“We need to go back to doing the basics of correcting all these gaps and inefficiencies, which is where our collaboration between the African Union and the United Nations is key, so that we bring back that conscious and that spirit of collaboration in our several multilateralism forum.” 

 

Representing President Sahlework Zewdie, the Planning and Development Minister Fitsum Assefa called for prioritizing poverty eradication and the needs of the most vulnerable groups.

Eradicating poverty requires a holistic approach with substantial investments in peace building, education, healthcare, infrastructure, and sustainable livelihoods.

“The enormous challenges we are facing today demand our resolute commitment to eradicating poverty and ensuring the delivery of sustainable, resilient and innovative solutions. (And) in doing so, we must prioritize the needs of the most vulnerable groups.” 

The forum that will be held until Thursday is aimed to serve as a platform for stakeholders to discuss solutions to accelerate progress towards the SDGs and Agenda 2063. 

The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), in collaboration with the African Union Commission, organized the three-day forum.