A study by the Sustainable Development Goals Center for Africa (SDGC/A) has revealed that 60 million more people will be poor due to the Coronavirus pandemic by the year 2030.

The report indicates that before the coming of Covid-19, 400 million people in Africa were still in poverty but the pandemic is likely to increase the figure to nearly 460 million living below $1.9 a day.

This translates into 8 in 10 of the world’s poor will be living on the African continent and of these; nearly two-thirds are in rural areas.

The report further says that, there’s still disaggregation by sex and age, whereas disability, race, and indigenous status are not frequently used.

The report indicates that despite the positive progress made, the current level of financial inclusion in Africa is the lowest in the world, which is unacceptable.

If vulnerable portions of the population including women, youth, and rural areas are disproportionately excluded, it would be difficult if not impossible to achieve Agenda 2063 and SDGs by 2030.

 Persisting low levels of financial inclusion continues to hinder access to formal financial services to save money, manage daily finances, run businesses, and be active participants in socioeconomic development which will impact the achievement of Agenda 2063 and SDGs.

Given the increasingly clear link between financial inclusion and sustainable development, African leaders, policy makers, and development actors need to take urgent action in enhancing financial inclusion in Africa for the acceleration of progress and ultimate achievement of SDGs and Agenda 2063.

The SDGC/A Senior Economist Dr. Enock Nyorekwa Twinoburyo said many households in Africa have remained matriarchal and women have continued to face unique adversities, which leave them more vulnerable.

 He said currently, 7 of the 10 most unequal economies are in Africa, with the top 10% accounting for more than 50% of the national pre-tax income while the bottom 50% account for less than 10%.

Twinoburyo warned that the situation is not about to change unless active, structural changes are implemented adding that 33 of the 36 countries in the low human development category are in Africa.

He said there’s need to overcome cultural and political barriers to participation at local, national, and global levels adding that both the SDG 2030 and the African Union (AU) 2063 include social inclusion targets, though the interpretation of inclusiveness at the indicator level is narrow.

Twinoburyo said inclusive market systems are the most powerful contributors to poverty reduction, universal access, and equality of opportunities on the continent.

“ Inclusive and efficient markets break down barriers to access for factors of production, while country-specific enabling factors can be aligned for better and sustained access to basic services,” he said.

Twinoburyo explained that it is a matter of urgency for governments and other state and non-state actors to design and implement policies and actions that spur inclusiveness.

He said consultatively and inclusively, the SDG Center for Africa is committed to developing detailed annotated action plans consistent with the planning and budgeting process of the respective nations.

He made the remarks as he presented findings of the study during a virtual conference titled “Africa 2030: SDGs within Social Boundaries - Leave No One behind Outlook”.

The meeting brought together leaders from across the globe to share candid perspectives on the SGD progress across the African continent.  

The SDGC/A, is an autonomous not profit international organization that supports citizens, governments, civil society, businesses and academic institutions to accelerate progress towards the achievement of the SDGs in Africa.

He said according to the report, Labour market exclusion is beyond unemployment nuance, with notable declining real wages over recent years, and in turn, nominal wages as exhibited by high levels of working poor remain low.

Further, social protection coverage remains low and the associated fiscal provisions continue to be limited and now have an even wider funding gap due to COVID-19.

The minister for General Duties and the government focal person for SDGs, Kasule Lumumba said following the historic adoption of a new sustainable development agenda by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015, African leaders decided to take quick and firm action by establishing the Center as a home-grown African institution to championing the implementation of the SDGs in line with the principles of African Union’s 2063 Agenda.

She said Uganda has been at the forefront of implementing the SDGs with many examples from which other countries can learn.

“I call on all SDG implementing teams in Uganda, led by the SDG Secretariat to also continue learning and benchmarking from other countries to create more synergy,” Lumumba said.

She said government views the challenges above including the Covid-19 pandemic as a time to deeply reflect on how we have come as a  country, where we hope to go and how to go there.

 Lumumba noted that the third national development plan-111, and the parish development model, was kicking off at the same time as Uganda’s new national SDG roadmap.

“These and other strategies are clear illustration of determination of the government’s regular review and make the necessary changes to ensure that, in the same spirit of 2030 agenda for sustainable development, no citizen is left behind and we must ensure to reach the furthest first,” Lumumba said.

The parish model is more inclusive because it caters for all interest groups in a given parish including women, children, youth, persons with disabilities and other minority interest groups.

She said government is convinced that nothing can better guarantee inclusive growth and employment for Ugandans than equitable participation of more Ugandans in the money economy.

She lauded the SDG centre for Africa for partnering with government to establish a new SDG monitoring and reporting system and called on other countries to consider adopting it as well.

Lumumba said with Covid-19 pandemic, countries must continue to objectively reassess their national and institutional efforts to ensure social inclusion for all people and struggle to keep our economies afloat.

The Acting Director General of SDGC/A, Caroline Makasa said by  agreeing to establish an African-owned center with proven technical expertise, African leaders wanted to ensure that they act together in pursuit of a shared African development vision.

She said the time is now for African leaders to build upon Africa’s existing success with the Millennium Development Goals by bringing together people, ideas and innovations to collectively achieve a more sustainable future, which has been hampered by the pandemic