At a press conference held in conjunction with the UN High-Level Political Forum for Sustainable Development in New York today, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), and the African Development Bank (AfDB) unveiled the 2024 Africa Sustainable Development Report (ASDR).
The new ASDR, titled “Reinforcing the 2030 Agenda and Agenda 2063 and Eradicating Poverty in Times of Multiple Crises: The Effective Delivery of Sustainable, Resilient and Innovative Solutions,” raises a number of important recommendations, including expanded access to concessionary development financing, strengthened early warning systems and climate information, and economic reforms.
The study offers a thorough analysis of how well African nations are doing in achieving their 32 objectives and the five SDGs in order to fulfill the 2030 Agenda and the 2063 Agenda of the African Union. Goal 1 of the SDGs is to eliminate poverty; Goal 2 is to end hunger; Goal 13 is to battle climate change; Goal 16 is to promote peaceful societies; and Goal 17 is to develop global partnerships. These are the five SDGs that are being reviewed.
According to the study, only around three of the 32 objectives evaluated in this report (ASDR-2024) will be reached by Africa, and eight of those targets have seen setbacks. The other targets have either experienced sluggish development or the status quo.
“After COVID-19, advanced economies have recovered, but many African nations still face significant debt, double-digit inflation, and restricted access to vital funds for development and climate change. The ECA Executive Secretary, Claver Gatete, said that “despite some progress in recent decades, disparities in the Human Development Index are widening between top-ranking nations and those at the bottom, highlighting significant challenges across Africa.”
While official development assistance (ODA) to Africa did rise by two percent in 2023, the overall amount of ODA is still just 0.37 percent of the gross national income of all donors—far less than the 0.7 percent objective set by UN member states. Since there isn’t much time left before the 2030 SDG deadline, most nations may not be able to raise enough money to cover their financial shortfall.
“We are running out of time, but African countries have made some significant progress in important areas,” said Matthias Naab, Deputy Regional Director a.i. for UNDP Africa. “In order to get back on track towards our global goals and the Africa we want, it is vital that we strengthen relationships, consider creative solutions, and halt the present slowdown, which in some cases has even reversed. We also need to engage more closely with African nations and people. Furthermore, this paper is crucial as it offers a way to achieve this crucial acceleration.
Despite setbacks from crises like COVID-19, which sharply boosted poverty rates, Africa has made progress toward reducing poverty (target 1); in 2022, Africa accounted for more than half (54.8%) of all people living in poverty globally. Though still far below the worldwide average, social protection systems now cover just 17.4% of the population. Efforts are being made to improve these systems. Global standards are still being worked for, but access to drinking water has risen from 68.7 percent in 2015 to 72.9 percent on average, and basic sanitation services are now available to 52% of the population.
In Africa, it is imperative to fight undernourishment, stunting, and hunger (target 2). Even while there remain obstacles like hunger, which will impact 281.6 million people in 2022—an increase of 11 million from 2021—initiatives to address these problems are in the works and urgently need assistance. Enhancing food security via assistance and better agricultural investment are two of the measures.
While efforts to improve disaster risk reduction are ongoing, only 29 out of 54 nations have produced national and local disaster risk reduction plans since 2015. Despite this, Africa has shown extraordinary resilience and commitment to tackle climate change (target 13). Africa needs to finance climate action, but just $29.5 billion of the $2.8 trillion required between 2020 and 2030 to enable African nations to carry out their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement has been raised.
“Africa still faces financial challenges. The Nationally Determined Contributions and climate action pledges made by the continent will need an annual budget of $118.2 billion to $145.5 billion. According to Al Hamndou Dorsouma, Manager of the AfDB Climate Change and Green Growth Division, “This calls for the development partners to step up their support, including by strengthening the system of public development banks that focus on enhancing productive capacities, infrastructure, and human capital development. African countries also need to prioritize domestic resource mobilization through reforms like digitizing tax administration systems, implementing progressive taxation, and leveraging digital payment platforms.”
Regarding governance (target 16), although some countries, like Malawi, have made great strides in the fight against corruption, many African states still struggle with sluggish growth and an increase in bribery cases. High illegal money flows also continue to impede the funding of important agendas; in 2020, they were estimated to be $1.1 trillion in inflows and $1.3 trillion in outflows, with Africa losing around $88.6 billion yearly.
In addition, the ASDR emphasized that there are still significant data gaps in a number of the continent’s nations and advised scholars and policymakers to prioritize building skills and capacity in order to obtain a more accurate picture of the needs and achievements of each nation with regard to inclusive and sustainable development.
“The dedication and advancement of African nations are emphasized in this new report, but it also draws attention to the obstacles still needed to create ‘The Africa We Want.'” It emphasizes how critical it is to move quickly to implement sustainable development initiatives and how critical it is for African nations to intensify their efforts and empower their people in order to achieve more inclusive growth. However, it also demonstrates emphatically how creative funding and improved alliances are essential for nations to be able to step up their efforts, according to Monique Nsanzabaganwa, the Deputy Chairperson of the African Union.