Uganda to align all NDP targets to SDG goals

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The government says it is making an effort to ensure that all its development targets are aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

"At the beginning of Uganda adopting SDGs, it was only 70 per cent, but thereafter, when Uganda was developing the Third National Development Plan (NDPIII), the number rose to 90 per cent. We are hoping to raise it to 100 per cent as we finalise NDP IV that starts in July next year, " Dr Albert Byamugisha, the head of the SDG Secretariat, said on Wednesday (October 30, 2024).

He said alignment would not only apply to SDGs but also to Agenda 2063.

SDGs, also known as the Global Goals, were adopted by the United Nations in 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that by 2030 all people enjoy peace and prosperity.

A core tenet of the SDGs is the concept of ‘no one left behind’ — that sustainable development must help people regardless of gender, age, race, ethnicity, migratory status, income, disability, or geographic location.

Byamugisha said they are also making an effort to improve how it measures progress in the attainment of the goals.

"As you are aware, the SDGs are made up of 17 goals, 169 targets and 231 indicators, " he said, adding that at the beginning, Uganda had 45 data points that were able to measure the progress of the country in terms of the SDGs.

Albert Byamugisha, the head of the National SDG Secretariat at the Office of the Prime Minister, remarking during the CEO’s breakfast meeting and High Level dialogue on sustainability and SDG’s at Next media park. (Photo by Simon Peter Tumwine)

He said these rose to 92 in 2019 and 121 in 2022.

"Later, we were able to raise the data points that can be measured and compared with the rest of the world to 127, and now, with the completion of the National census, the number is now rising to 147," he said.

"By the end of the year, we hope that we will be in partnership with UN agencies and should be able to measure almost 190 and produce a report that is comparable to the rest of the world. We should be able to tell our story. "

He made the revelation during the CEO breakfast meeting and High-level dialogue on SDGs and sustainability.

Organised by Youth Go Green, a local NGO, the event was held at Naguru in Kampala under the theme of strengthening policy engagement in the achievement of SDG targets.