The Inclusive, Resilient Future We Want

As Ethiopia does away with the old and welcomes the new year, this annual cycle also resonates globally, for it marks the yearly modern day gathering of the elders in the form of the United Nations General Assembly (GA) members who converge in New York to reflect on global concerns and challenges, applaud progress and chart new ways forward.

In his last address to the GA, outgoing UN Secretary General Ban Kii Moon noted, “Gulfs of mistrust divide citizens from their leaders. Extremists push people into camps of ‘us’ and ‘them’. Yet after 10 years in office, I am more convinced than ever that we have the power to end war, poverty and persecution. We have the means to prevent conflict. We have the potential to close the gap between rich and poor, and to make rights real in people’s lives.”

The UN Secretary General’s optimism for the future rests with the commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that nations, including Ethiopia, have made.

In Ethiopia, the UN worked with the government, civil society and the private sector to help bring citizens together to consult and paint a vivid picture of The Future We Want – YeMinishat Ethiopia. The SDGs, successfully weaving social, economic and environment aspirations into a common sustainable 2030 development agenda are what came out of these national and global consultations.

In a world where there is no dearth of plans and strategies, the argument for the SDGs as a game changer is that these goals have a strong chance of improving the lives, especially of Ethiopians, through shining the light on inclusive, equitable and quality development.

This global development narrative is very timely, particularly here in Ethiopia, which has recently witnessed rapid economic growth. Its Growth & Transformation Plan clearly prioritizes accelerated, equitable, inclusive and gender sensitive growth for the present generation as well as pushing for investments in a green economy to ensure sustainable development for future generations to come.

That is why a year on from the adoption of the SDGs on September 25, 2015, we need to seriously reflect on how we move from commitment to action, including tackling the financing needed to roll out these goals. In Ethiopia, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – which the SDGs (also referred to as the Global Goals or Agenda 2030) have now replaced – have given us a rich source of lessons, even wisdom, in terms of planning, financing, implementing, monitoring and reporting on national commitments to global development goals.

This time last year, we celebrated Ethiopia’s achievement of six of the eight MDGs, and progress in the remaining two. The celebrated goals namely focused on eradicating extreme poverty and hunger; achieving universal primary education; reducing child mortality; combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases; ensuring environmental sustainability and global partnerships for development. We witnessed one of the fruits of this progress when in 2015 years of investment in the social sector and a strengthened disaster risk management system meant that Ethiopia faced off the worst El-Nino induced drought in 50 years and averted famine.

Ethiopia’s commendable progress on the MDGs has not been without areas where challenges remain. The country has made significant improvement in stepping up its policies and legal provisions to deal with gender equality. However, by the end of the MDG 2015 deadline, the nation lagged behind on meeting goals that looked at promoting gender equality and empowerment of women as well as improving maternal health.

In addition, nearly one of out of four girls in Ethiopia aged 0-14 still go through female genital mutilation and are scarred for life. On the positive side, the investments aimed at increasing the number of health posts and personnel can play a critical role in addressing some of these gaps but this can only happen if the issue of limited medical facilities and low skill levels of health personnel are addressed as a priority.

On the whole, the unfinished business of MDGs is acknowledged and prioritized in national plans and this will place Ethiopia in a strong position as we move towards the implementation of the SDGs. Ethiopia has publically declared its ambitions of becoming a lower middle income country with a carbon neutral economy by 2025. The country has already demonstrated that where there is commitment, determination, and discipline, it can achieve its high ambitions.

In order to achieve its ambitious goal it must tackle a number of key issues that remain a challenge: Over 20 million Ethiopians live below the national poverty line; unemployment remains high in general and higher for females. Ethiopia’s growing young population means that unemployment is likely to remain an issue of concern; 40pc of Ethiopian children under five are stunted; and high dropout rates as well as quality of education also remains an area of concern.

The SDGs have the potential to be a game changer, and unlike the MDGs, provide a broader and a more comprehensive approach that deal with economic, social and environmental priorities – an approach that looks at sustainable development for the people and the planet. The global goals provide an integrated development and structural transformation pathway that will generate productive employment not only for the already existing unemployed but also for those new entrants to the labor market.

The SDGs also highlight commitments to principles of good governance, peace and security, which are fundamental to building a more inclusive, equitable and sustainable development. With the SDGs, we are also no longer content to simply reduce poverty but instead we reach out for higher ambitions that guarantee equity, eradication of poverty, building sustainable cities and combating climate change, to name just a few.

In Ethiopia’s case, enhancing resilience to shocks, bridging the gender gap and paying attention to the demographic dividend are some of the priority areas of focus on the road to achieving the SDGs by 2030. The UN country team in Ethiopia is supporting the Ethiopia through an integrated UN development assistance plan, commonly referred to as the UN Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF).

The current UNDAF (2016-2020) responds to 149 of the 169 SDG targets through five key pillars that focus on inclusive growth and structural transformation; resilience and green economy; investing in human capital and expanded access to quality and equitable basic social services; good governance, participation and capacity development; and finally equity and empowerment. The UN’s overall engagement on the SDGs will help the country to mainstream the SDGs in national and sub-national development plans, accelerate progress on the SDGs, and provide support for policy, monitoring and regular reporting.

A joint Government and UNCT SDG rollout action plan has already been prepared and is currently under implementation. The action plan prioritizes deepening awareness of SDGs by all stakeholders. Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) offers a comprehensive approach towards investing in a better future for our planet and the billions of people living in it. As the chair of the UN Development Group (UNDG) Helen Clark recently put it, “Today’s challenges call for very bold approaches to building a more peaceful, just, and sustainable world. The alternative is clear: a world characterized by even more turmoil and instability than that which we see today.”

SDGs can only be realized if they are made an integral part of the national development strategies and participation of all stakeholders will be key during this process.

As the UN Resident Coordinator, I want to invite all stakeholders to step up and strengthen the partnership around the global development agenda. We need citizens, particularly women and youth, to feel empowered to take the SDGs as their personal goals and contribute to their implementation and monitoring. Civil society groups and especially the private sector will also see an expansion of their role in pushing forward this global development agenda.


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