Localization of the Sustainable Development Goals

21 November 2021

Your Excellency Minister of Planning and Economic Development, Dr. Halla El Said,

Your Excellency Minister of Local Development, Major General Shaarawi,

Dear Frederika, the Country Representative of UNFPA,

Excellencies, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, dear Colleagues,

First of all, allow me to congratulate the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development and UNFPA for organizing this event today which showcases Egypt’s commitment to the 2030 Agenda and SDGs.

It is an honour but also of high importance for me as the UN Resident Coordinator to be here today because SDG localization is critical for achieving the SDGs and ensuring no one is left behind.

Why is this? Let’s look at the SDG targets - around two-thirds of the 169 SDG targets rely on the contributions and responsibilities of local governments. As basic service providers in health, education, housing, food systems, and water and sanitation, the local governments are the ones who play the most important role in delivering on the SDGs. 

As the former UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, clearly put it “our struggle for sustainability will be won or lost at local level”.

Yet, localization is more than just “landing” internationally agreed goals at the local level. It is about making the aspirations of the SDGs become real and meaningful to communities, households and individuals, particularly to those who are at risk of being left behind.

With this understanding, in recent years, a growing number of countries have embarked on the path of localizing the SDGs.

Egypt was one of the first countries to identify SDG localization as a priority and to accord it significant attention “to address geographic disparities, being one of the many forms of inequality that should be reduced” as articulated in the Country’s 2021 Voluntary National Review (VNR).

Although progress is being made, we know there are considerable barriers to effectively localize the SDGs. This includes local capacity and financial resource shortages; a lack of policy coherence and coordination among national and local efforts; limited awareness of the SDGs at the subnational level; and challenges related to the availability of data and capacities to perform subnational monitoring.

The country’s commitment to address those challenges has been best demonstrated through the Haya Karima Initiative.

The Haya Karima Initiative adopts a comprehensive approach to addressing the three dimensions of sustainable development – economic, social and environmental at the local level to improve the quality of life in the poorest villages as well as the marginalized rural areas.

By targeting the poorest rural communities, the Initiative presents an outstanding opportunity for achieving the SDGs and reaching those that at risk of being left behind.

We should not miss on the opportunity to align Haya Karima’s targets and indicators with the SDGs targets and indicators. This will ensure that by reporting on Haya Karima we will report on the SDGs.

Localizing the SDG targets and indicators can set the framework for this to happen.  

Distinguished participants,

UNFPA with national partners have paved the way but we need to do more.

We are looking to amplify the partnership on SDG localization through a more integrated UN approach that brings the entire UN system together.

And I look at Ministry of Planning for leadership on this front.

We should also ensure that the work which Egypt does on SDG localization feeds into important global processes. One significant global initiative is the Local 2030 Coalition, which was launched at the UN GA this year.

The Coalition aims at collaboratively developing and implementing solutions that advance the SDGs at the local level.

It offers a platform to mobilize, engage and empower local actors worldwide by the sharing of knowledge, best practices and innovative solutions that can shape a transformative recovery and accelerate progress on the SDGs. And Egypt has a lot to share and can also benefit from its proactive engagement in the Global Coalition.

In closing, I would like to commend the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development and UNFPA on the 27 localization reports that are being presented today.

Going forward, these reports can act as the foundation for a deeper engagement of the entire UN system to further localize the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda.

I thank you.