National consultations by Ivorian civil society on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) got underway in the capital Abidjan on Friday.
The exercise was launched in the presence of several organisations to prepare Cote d’Ivoire’s Voluntary National Review (NVR) report to be presented in July in New York.
The meetings organized by the Civil Society Initiative for the SDGs in Cote d’Ivoire (ISC/ODD-CI) aim to provide the contribution of the Ivorian society to the preparation of the report.
Adopted by the United Nations in 2015, the SDGs are a global initiative that sets 17 major goals to be implemented by 2030 with a focus on the eradication of poverty on the planet.
“The 2030 agenda is universal. The objectives of the 2030 Agenda are in synergy with the national priorities reflected in our 2016-2020 National Development Plan (NDP) and strengthened by the government’s social plan,” Dr. Nahoua Yeo, the permanent secretary of the Ivorian Planning and Development minister declared.
Welcoming the initiative from Ivorian civil society, Dr Yeo said that for this year, the voluntary country report will focus on the implementation of ten goals targeted by this high-level political forum for sustainable development.
According to him, the Ivorian government is committed to leading a “participatory and inclusive process as a leitmotiv, leaving no one behind”.
The minister concluded that the consultations will provide “relevant contributions” ahead of Cote d’Ivoire’s national voluntary report.
Earlier, Rachel Gogoua, Chair of the ISC / ODD-CI explained that the workshop aims to prepare the contribution of civil society to the report on the SDGs.
The representative of the United Nations system, Antonia Nbagala-Sodonon congratulated the Ivorian government, but reiterated the need to continue to work for equal opportunities in the country and increase spending for poverty reduction.
These national consultations by Ivorian civil society on the SDGs will last for forty-eight hours.
In August 2015, 193 countries ratified the seventeen SDGs.
They include the eradication of poverty, the fight against hunger, access to health, access to quality education, gender equality, access to safe water and sanitation, use of renewable energies, access to decent jobs, the promotion of sustainable industrialization that benefits all and the reduction of inequalities.
LB/ls/pn/as/APA