Uganda will next week host the Eleventh Session of the Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development (ARFSD-11), in Kampala, from April 9 to April 11, 2025 as the block seeks to renegotiate the shortcomings in meeting the Sustainable Development Goals and Africa’s Agenda 2063.
The meeting will call for concerted and accelerated action to address the potential meeting of the sustainable goals and Africa’s Agenda 2063 as like the rest of the world, Africa is far from meeting its goals.
“Africa like the rest of the world, is off track for meeting most targets of the Sustainable Development Goals and has even regressed on some. Alongside the SDGs, Heads of State and Government of the African Union have adopted and call for effective implementation of the Second Ten-year implementation plan(STYIP) of Agenda 2063.”
Moreso, “As such and with just about six years to 2030, there is an urgent need for concerted multi-level action at scale and speed, to achieve the goals of the 2030 Agenda and Agenda 2063. The remaining 6 years from 2025 therefore present an opportunity and a window of hope to dramatically boost the pace and scale of implementation to deliver on the regional and global sustainable development goals.” UNECA said on its website.
The forum aims at reviewing progress, challenges, and opportunities, strengthening learning and advocating for effective policy measures and actions that are sustainable, inclusive, science and evidence based for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and Agenda 2063,
The meeting will further serve as Africa’s preparatory meeting and produce Africa’s collective inputs to the HLPF to be held in New York in July 2025 and the Second World Summit for Social Development to be held in Qatar from 4 to 6 November 2025.
UNECA in its press statement highlighted that the meeting will have “a particular focus on five key Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): SDG 3 (good health and well-being); SDG 5 (gender equality); SDG 8 (decent work and economic growth); SDG 14 (life below water); and SDG 17 (partnerships for the goals) and the corresponding goals of Agenda 2063 with a special focus on its second ten-year implementation plan (STYIP).”
This year’s meeting will be held in the virtual and physical format with attendance expected from regional ministers, financial experts, non state actors, media and technocrats among other key stakeholders.