One year on: Are we on track to implementing the SDGs.

Aug 08, 2016

The SDGs are a universal agenda of sustainable development, calling on all nations to pursue a holistic strategy that combines economic development, social inclusion and environmental sustainability

Just a week ago, the UN did release the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Index and Dashboards - Global Report 2016. The purpose of this report is to assist countries in getting started with implementing the new SDGs.

The SDGs are a universal agenda of sustainable development, calling on all nations to pursue a holistic strategy that combines economic development, social inclusion and environmental sustainability. We are gratified that throughout the world, local and national governments are already rallying around the new goals, seeking ways to incorporate them into planning processes.

But the question on our minds is whether countries one year down the road after the UN Summit in 2016 have made any significant progress to achieving the goals. Governments worldwide including Uganda since September, 2016 have been putting more emphasis on national key development priorities combined with the long electoral processes that can not translate into measurable outcomes of the SDGs roadmap.

The UN Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon while releasing the report said "This is a crucially important time in humankind's quest for peace and prosperity on a healthy planet. Last year's agreement by the General Assembly on the 17 transformative Sustainable Development Goals brought the leaders of the world together with representatives of civil society, the private sector, academia and other partners to chart a truly sustainable path towards a future of dignity for all. The centerpiece of this effort is to leave no one behind. We now have to translate that vision into tangible, positive change."

We all have a stake and a crucial role to play in making sure the 17 Goals are on track at the national level and our development plans being put in tandem with UN Agenda 2030. As we near the next UN General Assembly in New York next month, member countries need to be seen to have tangible results from the past one year. Uganda did faily well being ranked at 123 and a score of 60.8% on performance regarding the implementation of the Goals with Sweden being at number 1 at a score of 84.5%.  

Sub-Saharan Africa faces nearly across-the-board challenges in meeting the SDGs. In particular, major challenges remain in ending extreme poverty (SDG 1) and hunger (SDG 2), health (SDG 3), education (SDG 4), and access to basic infrastructure (SDG 9), while noting the tremendous progress that was made in many of these areas under the Millennium Development Goals. The broader SDGs bring out additional challenges for Sub-Saharan Africa that require urgent action. These include sustainable urban development (SDG 11) and reducing high inequality (SDG 10). Similarly, significant challenges remain on SDGs 16, including peace, security, and institutions with almost the countries around the Great Lakes region being in armed conflict directly or indirectly like South Sudan, Somali and Burundi. The red scores on Goal 17 highlight that Sub-Saharan Africa has significant potential in mobilizing domestic revenue collection and in the deployment of information and communication technologies.

The SDGs are everybody's responsibility and the UN in Uganda led by UNDP in partnership with the Uganda Government need to see to it that a stakeholders' approach is adopted if we are to achieve the goals by 2030. Finally, countries need to increase public awareness and resource mobilization amidst all other challenges for the SDGs.

The writer is the executive director of the Commonwealth Association-Uganda

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