Sixteen Less Developed Nations (LDCs) have converged on Nigeria’s capital, Abuja for a Learning Conference on “Holistic Approaches For The Implementation Of The 2030 Sustainable Development Goals” whose protocol was endorsed by world leaders under the auspices of the United Nations in New York in September 2015.
The two-day Abuja conference organized by the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) is designed to provide a platform for the exchange of ideas and experiences in the course of the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Less Developed Countries.
Sustainable Development Goals, an off-shoot of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is a global programme with a seventeen point agenda designed to uplift the quality of life of humans the world over.
The 17 point agenda of the SDGs include:
1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture
3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote life-long learning opportunities for all
5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all
8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development Finance.
The 2-day learning conference has brought together 19 Less Developed Countries, which include:
1. Uganda
2. Gambia
3. Ethiopia
4. Mozambique
5. Malawi
6. Lesotho
7. Sierra Leone
8. Tanzania
9. Somalia
10. Angola
11. Zambia
12. Sudan
13. South Sudan
14. Rwanda
Participants will x-ray the National review process with a presentation from Uganda, mainstreaming SDG Agenda for sustainable development with a presentation from the UNDP Regional Service Centre for Africa as well as examine issues bodering on knowledge exchange among member Nations.
Other issues to be discussed at the conference include:
v Coordination mechanisms, processes and practices towards an integrated approach for the implementation of Agenda 2030
v Partnership Framework Issues
v Country presentations from Uganda and Zambia
The conference which was declared open by the Hon. Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Hajiya Zainab Ahmed ends today.
Ben Bem Goong
Acting Director (Information)
