UN deputy chief encourages RC solidarity with African youth for SDG acceleration

Africa's youth and women were at the heart of discussions during UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed’s annual meeting with Resident Coordinators from across the continent. The central focus was on accelerating progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and ensuring Africa’s voice is clearly heard in international negotiations at the upcoming Summit of the Future. 

As the youngest continent on the planet, Africa faces unique challenges that slow down progress on the SDGs and fuel disillusionment with the effectiveness of current policies and their relevance to people. Ms. Mohammed emphasized the particular urgency to restore hope for young African men and women and make sustainable development a reality for them. “This is the continent that is the furthest behind, and so we have to pull it up,” she said.

“We can turn that around, and we have six years [to do so], but we have to do that with youth. We have to do that with women.”

This year’s strategic dialogue took place in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa, on the margins of the tenth Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development between 23 and 25 April. The Regional Director for Africa of the UN Development Coordination Office Yacoub El-Hillo moderated the session.

Deputy Secretary-General Mohammed emphasized the need for the UN to pool its expertise and support for African governments. She stressed that collaborative efforts should ensure political commitments to accelerate the SDGs translate into laws, policies and programmes that make societies resilient to crisis and able to anticipate and respond to their impact on the SDGs.

"We have to address the development emergency with the prevention tool, the recovery tool, the root cause tool and others [to know] what needs to happen to accelerate the SDGs," she stressed.

Ms. Mohammed’s call to action was echoed by Under-Secretary-General Guy Ryder for Policy, who stressed the imperative of amplifying African voices in global decision-making processes leading up to the Summit of the Future in September.

Mr. Ryder outlined progress on the Pact for the Future, the outcome document of the Summit with five pillars: financing for development; international peace and security; science, technology and innovation; youth and future generations; and transforming global governance.

“This Summit and the content of the pact matter very much to Africa.” However, Mr. Ryder warned that African narratives and priorities are insufficiently represented in the negotiating process in New York, and called for the support of the Resident Coordinators to make sure that Africa’s voice is heard.

The Summit of the Future will build on last year's SDG Summit, where UN Secretary-General António Guterres presented world leaders with six transformative pathways. These pathways aim to tackle critical areas such as food systems, energy access, digital connectivity, education, jobs, and climate change – all interconnected challenges demanding a systemic shift to achieve the SDGs.

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Caption: Deputy Secretary-General Mohammed emphasized the need for the UN to pool its expertise and support for African governments.

Photo: © UN\ Daniel Getachew

RCs Charting the Course towards the Summit of the Future

Resident Coordinators shared insights with Ms. Mohammed on successes and challenges in implementing SDG acceleration and discussing strategic pathways to support governments and partners.

Among many different flagships shared by the RCs, the Resident Coordinator for Ethiopia Ramiz Alakbarov, provided examples of initiatives that integrate agro-food systems with climate adaptation, and support the livelihoods of women and young people in marginalized communities. The Resident Coordinator in Egypt Elena Panova noted her efforts in bringing international financial institutions and the private sector in discussions with the government on the transformative pathways and preparations for the Summit of the Future.

The Resident Coordinator for Lesotho Amanda Mukwashi said the government’s national budget allocations are aligned with its political pledge with respect to digital transformation and energy access and can be used as a successful practice at the Summit of the Future.

Cabo Verde has also fully aligned its national development plan with accelerating the SDGs, focusing on jobs and social protection, climate change and digital connectivity. Similarly, Ghana has designed a national dialogue with the government, civil society groups and others that will help helped integrate accountability for SDG summit commitment in proposals for the Summit of the Future.

The Resident Coordinator for Botswana Zia Choudhury emphasized underrepresentation of young people in African policy conversations and the need to re-engage them as strategic partners. "What we want to do is to encourage young people to see development as a marathon, not as just a quick sprint a couple of times a year," he said.

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Caption: Resident Coordinators shared insights with Ms. Mohammed on successes and challenges in implementing SDG acceleration

Photo: © UN\ Abel Takele

Discussions recognized the crucial role of the Joint SDG Fund for leveraging partnerships and catalytic funding for SDGs, reforming of the SDG financial architecture remains key and in reframing the dialogue with international financial Institutions on SDG financing.

The meeting was attended by a number of senior United Nations decision-makers, including Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the UN Office to the African Union Parfait Onanga-Anyanga, Special Adviser on Africa Cristina Duarte, Special Coordinator for development in the Sahel Abdoulaye Mar Dieye, Assistant Secretary-General for Development Coordination Oscar Fernandez-Taranco and Assistant Secretary-General for Youth Felipe Paullier.

In closing, the Deputy Secretary-General reiterated the UN development system’s determination to achieve the ambitious targets set forth in the SDGs. "We have six years left to move this agenda really fast. We don’t relax; we don’t give up," she said.
 

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Caption: Assistant Secretary-General for Development Coordination Oscar Fernandez-Taranco, Under-Secretary-General Guy Ryder for Policy and Regional Director for Africa of the UN Development Coordination Office Yacoub El-Hillo are pictured with DSG Mohammed

Photo: © UN\ Daniel Getachew