Speaking at the 10th Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development (ARFSD) on Thursday in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, Mohammed said Africa faces “all time” high debt servicing that has frozen the continent’s economic drive, expenditure and investment on sustainable development.
She said Africa passed midway in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 Agenda and yet progress on most SDGs is off-track – it is either moving much too slowly or has regressed below the 2015 baseline.
Noting that SDGs cannot be ambitious for a continent endowed with huge natural resources and 70 percent of youth population, Mohammed said that achieving the SDGs by the set deadline of 2030 requires concrete actions of African governments.
The UN Deputy Secretary-General noted that “the gap is enormous. An additional 4 trillion U.S. dollars must be invested every year until 2030 to have a chance of achieving the SDGs globally.”
Mohammed underscored the need for African countries to look into strategic interventions that leverage the continent’s vast natural and renewable resources that are essential for the transition to green economies.
“Africa is home to 50 percent of world’s solar energy resource but the continent has attracted only two percent of the global investment on renewable energy over the last two decades,” said the deputy secretary-general highlighting that African countries, however, are making tangible progress on securing access to sustainable energy over the past six years.
She said the forum came ahead of a crucial international conference in September, presenting an opportunity for African leaders to advocate for a more equitable global financial system and secure increased investments and debt relief.
Recalling that UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for an SDGs stimulus of at least 500 billion U.S. dollars a year to scale up affordable long term financing for developing countries, Mohammed insisted that Africa’s leadership and collective voice will be essential to make the stimulus a reality.
The 10th Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development took place under the theme “Reinforcing the 2030 agenda for sustainable development and agenda 2063 and eradicating poverty in times of multiple crises, the effective delivery of sustainable, resilient and innovative solutions.”
MG/abj/APA