Sustainable Development Goals in Sync with Africa's Priorities
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December 2015 www.un.org/africarenewal ccccc Sustainable Development Goals in sync with Africa’s priorities Support for deal on climate change Nelson Mandela Prize winners CONTENTS December 2015 | Vol. 29 No. 3 3 SPECIAL FEATURE COVER STORY Sustainable Development Goals are in sync with Africa’s priorities 6 Amina Mohammed: “I foresee a world without poverty” A rally to promote the SDGs in Batare, Rwanda. 8 What are Sustainable Development Goals? United Nations Development Programme 9 Carlos Lopes: Financing Africa’s development agenda 10 Maged Abdelaziz: Africa’s Agenda 2063 in harmony with SDGs 11 Ibrahim Mayaki: Mobilizing funds for regional infrastructure ALSO IN THIS ISSUE Editor-in-Chief Masimba Tafirenyika 12 Nelson Mandela Prize winners feted 13 Women, peace & security Managing Editor Zipporah Musau 14 Ethiopia: Fixing agriculture 16 Towards a unified African market Staff Writers 18 African leaders pledge to fight for a deal on climate change Kingsley Ighobor Franck Kuwonu 20 MDGs: An assessment of Africa’s progress 22 A review of the Millennium Development Goals Research & Media Liaison Pavithra Rao DEPARTMENTS Design & Production Paddy D. Ilos, II 29 Wired 30 Books Administration Dona Joseph 31 Appointments Distribution Atar Markman Cover photo: A row of wind turbines at a facility in Morocco. Panos/Markel Redondo Page 8 photo: School children attending parade in South Africa. World Bank/Trevor Samson Interns Eleni Mourdoukoutas Africa Renewal is published in English and French organizations. Articles from this magazine may be Sara Canals by the Strategic Communications Division of the freely reprinted, with attribution to the author and United Nations Department of Public Information. to “United Nations Africa Renewal,” and a copy Its contents do not necessarily reflect the views of of the reproduced article would be appreciated. Africa Renewal is published by the United the United Nations or the publication’s supporting Copyrighted photos may not be reproduced. Nations, New York, on recycled paper. Address correspondence to: Subscribe to Africa Renewal The Editor, Africa Renewal Africa Renewal offers free subscriptions to Room S-1032 individual readers. Please send your request to www.un.org/africarenewal United Nations, NY 10017-2513, USA, Circulation at the address to the left or by e-mail to Tel: (212) 963-6857, Fax: (212) 963-4556 [email protected]. Institutional subscriptions facebook.com/africarenewal are available for thirty-five US dollars, payable by international money order or a cheque in US dollars E-mail: [email protected] drawn on a US bank, to the “United Nations” and twitter.com/africarenewal sent to Circulation at the address to the left. 2 AfricaRenewal December 2015 In a historic event, more than 150 world leaders gathered at the UN in New York on 25 September to adopt a new and ambitious development blueprint known as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This momentous agenda will serve as the launch pad for global action to promote shared prosperity and well-being for all over the next 15 years. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS World leaders listen to an address by Pope Francis on 25 September before adopting the SDGs at the United Nations headquarters, New York. UN/Cia Pak Sustainable Development Goals are in sync with Africa’s priorities Newly adopted Sustainable Development Goals could transform the continent BY KINGSLEY IGHOBOR n 26 September, a day after Biden, First Lady Michelle Obama and UN including US President Barack Obama and world leaders adopted the Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Other British Prime Minister David Cameron, new development agenda guests included Nobel Peace Prize Lau- addressed the crowd via video links. known as the 2030 Agenda reate Malala Yousafzai, British billion- Given that the UN had just agreed on Ofor Sustainable Development, prominent aire businessman Richard Branson and the SDGs’ adoption, the festival became as personalities in world politics, social Grammy-Award winning singer Beyoncé much a victory lap as it was a rallying cry activism, business and entertainment Knowles. for individuals, organizations and coun- gathered in New York’s Central Park for Over 60,000 people witnessed the tries to redouble their efforts to make the an annual event organized by the non-gov- event whose aim was to raise awareness world a better place. ernmental organization, Global Citizens. on the issues of gender equality, the envi- “Take your passion and compassion Among the distinguished person- ronment, poverty, peace and justice. Top — and let’s make the global goals a global alities were US Vice President Joseph leaders who could not make it to the event, reality,” said Mr. Ban, in an impassioned AfricaRenewal December 2015 3 speech at the event. The head of the UN Angela Merkel of Germany put it force- where everyone lives a good life, where was referring to the 17 SDGs and 169 tar- fully: “We want to change our world, and people go to bed with stomachs filled with gets designed to guide the world’s develop- we can.” nutritious food, where the gulf between ment agenda over the next 15 years. These The address by Pope Francis, head developed and developing countries is goals, he said, are “a promise from your of the Catholic Church, to the UN Gen- narrowed, where women and men get leaders. Hold them to it. Demand that eral Assembly was particularly poignant. equal opportunities, where modern infra- they deliver.” Speaking to heads of state and other dig- structure is accessible to rural dwellers Ms. Obama, Ms. Yousafzai and Amina nitaries, he warned: “A selfish and bound- and where climate change no longer Mohammed, former UN special adviser on less thirst for power and material prosper- threatens human existence. A utopian Post-2015 Development Planning, under- ity leads both to the misuse of available dream? scored the message of Mr. Ban, with the natural resources and to the exclusion of Yet could this dream become reality? US first lady putting emphasis on the the weak and the disadvantaged.” Why not, proponents of the SDGs respond. need for education for girls. True to form, But beyond the pomp lay the sub- After all, the Millennium Development Beyoncé spiced up the event, viewed on stance: that the SDGs aim to end poverty, Goals (MDGs), regarded as largely suc- satellite television and the Internet by hunger and inequality, tackle climate cessful, inspired less confidence in their millions worldwide, with a performance change, and build resilient infrastruc- ultimate achievement than the SDGs have that was both entertaining and instruc- tures — all to be achieved between now received. Mr. Ban described the MDGs as tive on the SDGs. and 2030. In particular, efforts will be the “most successful anti-poverty move- deployed to reduce maternal mortality ment in history.” And Ms. Mohammed, in The pomp and the substance to below 70 per 100,000 live births, end an interview with Africa Renewal, defined Some 193 member states, most repre- HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and the 17 goals as “a response to the crises we sented by their heads of state, ratified other tropical diseases; ensure quality have in the world today” (see interview on the SDGs on 25 September at the start of education and gender equality; achieve pages 6-7). a three-day UN summit on sustainable universal access to safe drinking water The logic is if the MDGs were good for development in New York. The 39-storey and energy; address climate change; and the world, the SDGs will be even better. UN headquarters building was bathed in achieve at least a 7% global economic For example, because of the MDGs, the 17 different colours, each colour repre- growth, among other major goals. number of people worldwide living in senting a goal, turning the iconic building extreme poverty (less than $1.25 a day) into a dazzling spectacle. MDGs’ uneven benefits fell from 47% in 1990 to 14% in 2015, while Speaking at the summit, the world Meeting the 169 targets would transform deaths of children worldwide fell to 6.6 leaders pledged to work hard to achieve the world, some development experts say. million from 12.6 million during the same the goals and their targets. Chancellor It would lead to a world without wars, period, notes the World Bank. But positive reviews of the MDGs may not reflect current socioeconomic situ- ations for all developing countries, par- ticularly in Africa. An MDGs assessment report on Africa released in September by the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the African Development Bank (AfDB), the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the African Union (AU) indi- cates mixed results. While there has been progress in areas such as women’s politi- cal representation, maternal mortality, and secondary school enrolment, Africa could not meet all the targets, including that on poverty, blamed on poor imple- mentation and a drip-feed of funds. The reduction by more than half of the number of people living in extreme poverty, touted by MDGs proponents, was not universal, some critics say. Impressive economic growth in Brazil, China and The iconic UN headquarters building bathed in SDGs colours. UN Photo/Cia Pak 4 AfricaRenewal December 2015 Vietnam influenced that data. But the 2063 — a set of seven ‘aspirations’ that growth of these economies is currently resemble the SDGs. These aspirations are slowing down, according to the Interna- not a planning document, explains Mr. tional Monetary Fund, making it doubtful Lopes. Rather, they envision “the Africa that their contribution to global poverty you would like to have 100 years after reduction in the next 15 years will be at the founding of the OAU [Organization of the level witnessed in the past 15. African Unity],” the continental body that morphed into the AU in 2002.