New Africa SDGs report shows slow progress, calls for greater action to meet targets

Balaclava, Mauritius 9 December 2022 – The Coronavirus pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and climate change have all hampered Africa’s efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Halfway towards 2030, most African countries are struggling to meet most SDG targets. Without deliberate policies to accelerate progress towards the SDGs, by 2030, at least 492 million people will be left in extreme poverty and at least 350 million people by 2050.

A joint report by the African Union Commission (AUC), the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has been released at the African Economic Conference 2022 in Mauritius. It is titled “Building Back Better from the Coronavirus Disease, While Advancing the Full Implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.”

“Africa can no longer wait on the margins, and the time is now for the continent to rechart its development path and own its development agenda”, noted Ms Ahunna Eziakonwa, Assistant Administrator and Regional Director for Africa, UNDP.

The report evaluates Africa’s progress towards the SDGs and the objectives of the African Union’s Agenda 2063 in the context of the triple crises of COVID-19, climate change, and the war in Ukraine, which are all adversely impacting the continent’s performance on both agendas.

The 2022 Africa SDGs report gives an in-depth analysis of five SDGs: Goal 4 (Quality Education), Goal 5 (Gender Equality), Goal 14 (Life Below Water), Goal 15 (Life on Land) and Goal 17 (Partnerships for the Goals). Read More