Dr. Belay Begashaw, Director General of SDGs Centre for Africa
Three years after the launch of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), African governments are still short of $500 billion investment gap to fully reach the $1.2 trillion annual funding.
In September 2015, the United Nations’ 2030 targets were endorsed during a high-level conference in Kigali.
Under the annual funding, the continent needs $25 billion to achieve universal access to modern energy services by 2030; $18 billion for climate change adoption, $210 billion for basic infrastructure, food security, health, security and climate change mitigation, among others.
Next week, the SDGs Centre for Africa will release data detailing the journey Africa has gone during a three day conference.
At a press conference held on Friday, June 7 at the Center’s headquarters in the capital Kigali, North Africa was praised for moving faster than Central Africa in attaining SDGs related to human well-being.
Dr. Belay Begashaw, Director General of the Centre told journalists that North Africa’s pace is “hugely attributed to its stable economy. Examples are countries such as Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria.”
For Central Africa’s low pace, he said, “conflicts and other economic background matters,” Dr. Begashaw told KT Press on Friday.
Rwanda on track
Rwanda was highlighted as one of the countries rapidly implementing SDGs.
The Media at SDGs Press conference
He, however, added that the Center is helping countries including Rwanda to translate experts’ concepts on SDGs into citizen-centered report. “This will easily disseminate SDGs into communities,” he said.
Other tools used to help African governments to implement SDGs include working with tax bodies in every country to increase domestic revenues by reviewing tax policies.
Despite huge sums of funds expected to be allocated to energy and infrastructure, Dr. Begashaw said that Africa is putting more emphasis on Water, health and education to push the 2030 agenda.
“We cannot attain other goals when the African people are not well educated, access proper health care and clean water. These are main areas of priority,” he said.
For the past three years, data showed that two thirds (2/3) of African countries prevail in the low human development and continue to struggle in Education and Health care.
At the launch of SDGs, 190 world leaders committed to 17 Goals to help end, among others, extreme poverty, fight inequality and injustice as well as fixing climate change.
The post-three years assessment also shows that Africa is on track to achieve three goals; Gender Equality (5), Climate Action (10) and Life on Land (15).
The 17 goals include: No Poverty, No Hunger, Good Health; Quality Education, Gender Equality, Clean Water and Sanitation; Renewable Energy, Good Jobs and Economic Growth; Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, Reduced Inequalities, Sustainable Cities and Community; Responsible Consumption, Climate Action, Life below Water, Life on Land; Peace and Justice as well as Partnerships for the Goals.
From 12th to 14th this month, Heads of State and Government, development partners and other stakeholders will meet at a conference to assess the three year journey.
President Paul Kagame is the Board Chair of the Sustainable Development Goals Center for Africa.
