Addis Ababa — Implementing progressive global and regional gender and social agendas to advance inclusive and sustainable development will be the focus when the second session of the Committee on Gender and Social Development of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa convenes from 11 and 12 October.
The Director of the Social Development Policy Division (SDPD) of ECA, Ms. Thokozile Ruzvidzo, stressed the importance of this meeting as it symbolizes a critical step away from planning toward implementation of the global sustainable development agenda in Africa. She mentioned that "this meeting will move beyond aligning gender and social development goals of Agenda 2030 and Agenda 2063 with sector and national plans and delve into the challenges and opportunities present in the implementation phase of both agendas."
The meeting of the Committee on Gender and Social Development is an important opportunity for member States to advise ECA how best it can support and strengthen the capacity of member States to deliver on their commitments pertaining to on gender, population, youth, employment, social protection and urbanization.
The two-day meeting will set gender and social development priorities and effective strategies for ECA to include in its programming. The Commission's 54-member States will inform the Committee on their progress in planning, implementing, monitoring and evaluating the two agendas, and how they are tackling gender and social development challenges.
The Committee guides the Social Development Policy Division's work of furthering equitable and inclusive human and social development in Africa. The focus of this effort is on gender, employment, population and youth development, social protection, and urbanization in the context of Agendas 2030 and 2063.
After the meeting, member States will be better able to monitor the extent of social exclusion and, thereby, formulate policies that provide employment for all sectors of society and social protection for all citizens. They will also be able to appreciate how gender-responsive policies can contribute to achieving the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals and those contained in Agenda 2063. The role of well-planned and well-managed urbanization in driving inclusive and sustainable growth and transformation in Africa, and the means of achieving this through national development planning will also be shared with member States. Moreover, the meeting will help member States deliberate on strategies to monitor progress on population dynamics and harness the demographic dividend, particularly through boosting the human capital of the African youth as well as ensuring an enabling environment for employment centered growth.
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NOTE TO EDITORS
The role of the Committee on Gender and Social Development, as an advisory forum of experts and policy makers, is to provide guidance to the Commission in its work of promoting equitable and inclusive human and social development in Africa, with particular focus on gender, employment, population and youth development, social protection and urbanization.
