Abstract
At the point of adopting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Africa’s starting point on almost all dimensions of development was much lower than that of other regions of the world. Thus, SDG progress on the continent determines to a large extent whether the global SDG commitment to ‘leave no one behind’ remains rhetoric or becomes reality. Local government action is critical to the achievement of the SDGs, as most services provided at the local level have a direct impact on SDG indicators. This paper reflects on the first quadrennial review cycle of the SDGs, and highlights challenges encountered in localising the SDGs in sub-Saharan Africa. Furthermore, the paper contributes to the ongoing strategising for the remaining timeline of the SDGs and analyses the opportunities for local governments to contribute to SDG implementation. The paper also seeks to inform policy action to strengthen local capacity to drive the SDGs agenda in the ‘Decade of Action’ (2020–2030).
Highlights
In the year 2000, world leaders at the United Nations Millennium summit adopted a goal-based strategy for development
Localising the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Africa – the journey so far The sub-Saharan Africa region faces the most challenging task of achieving the absolute targets of the SDGs by 2030, given its lower starting position and the trend of relatively poor performance on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) (Nicolai et al 2016). This being the case, the SDGCA (2019) observes that attainment of the SDGs by African countries will require more than business as usual
The 2019 Africa SDG Index and Dashboards Report showed that 18 countries (46%) in sub-Saharan Africa have made less than 50% progress towards the best possible outcome on all the SDGs (SDGCA and Sustainable Development Solutions Network 2019)
Summary
In the year 2000, world leaders at the United Nations Millennium summit adopted a goal-based strategy for development. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) set out eight goals with the primary objective of significantly reducing the world’s poor populations (United Nations 2015a). The MDG framework guided global development efforts, in the developing world, over a 15-year timespan (2000–2015) and stimulated efforts to meet the needs of the poorest populations (United Nations 2015b). The unfinished business of the MDGs has been reflected in the successor plan, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which was adopted in 2015 with a 15-year outlook to 2030. The SDG strategy builds on the successes of the MDGs and broadens the vision to end poverty everywhere, permanently (United Nations 2015c)
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