Uganda to Host SDGs Review Meeting in April

More than 2,000 delegates are expected in Uganda to attend the Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development (ARFSD) meeting in April.

The annual meeting that will be held from the 9th to the 11th will be a follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Agenda 2063.  

While signing the host agreement, Prime Minister Robina Nabbanja highlighted that the meeting concurrently reviews the 2030 Agenda and Vision 2063 due to their interdependent nature in fostering the holistic development of the African continent.    

The ARFSD reviews the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Agenda 2063, "The Africa We Want," of the African Union since the two agendas provide a synergistic framework for achieving inclusive and people-centred sustainable development in the region.

The meeting will run under the theme "Driving Job Creation and Economic Growth Through Sustainable, Inclusive, Science- and Evidence-Based Solutions for the 2030 Agenda and Agenda 2063." 

"The overall objective of the meeting is to conduct a regional follow-up and review of progress made, facilitate peer learning, and advance sustainable, inclusive, science- and evidence-based, data-driven solutions and actions to dramatically increase economic growth, job creation, and the pace and scale of implementation of the SDGs and goals of Agenda 2063," Nabbanja said The meeting is expected to achieve consensus on Africa’s priorities for sustainable development and strengthen the capacity of individual countries to conduct their voluntary national reviews, which are essential for the 2025 High-Level Political Forum. 

The meeting will also equip civil society, the private sector, academia, and development partners with the knowledge, skills, and tools necessary to advance the two agendas. 

The ARFSD is Africa’s biggest meeting on SDGs and serves as an annual intergovernmental platform jointly convened by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the host government, the African Development Bank, and various United Nations system organizations on the continent.    

Clever Gatete, the ECA Executive Secretary, emphasized that Uganda was a natural choice to host the meeting due to its commendable progress toward achieving the 2030 Agenda compared to other countries in the region. "At 26 percent achievement, Uganda has performed remarkably well compared to its counterparts in the region, whose average stands at 10 percent. There could be no better choice for such a meeting than Uganda," Gatete explained. 

He further noted that the meeting serves as a peer-learning session to enhance SDG performance across the African continent, which has been significantly impacted by international geopolitical conflicts, natural calamities like the COVID-19 pandemic, and the effects of climate change.