On July 17th, 2019, on the margins of the 2019 High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), the African Union, the Office of the Special Adviser for Africa OSAA, the United Nations Commission for Africa ECA, the Institute for Economic Development and Planning (IDEP), and the United Nations Development Programme UNDP, convened a Side-Event at the Permanent Observer Mission of the African Union Mission to the United Nations on “Strengthening Partnerships to Accelerate Implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Agenda 2063 in Africa” .
The objective of this Africa Day at the HLPF was to share experiences and identify key development challenges that require stronger partnership for achieving the SDGs/Agenda 2063. It was also an occasion to explore the partnerships that have been effective to address such key challenges and find the best means to successfully support and replicate them.
Furthermore, African Member States seized this opportunity to identify challenges that have impeded the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the AU’s Agenda 2063 at the national and local levels. They agreed on the following:
1. In the context of implementation of the African Union-United Nations frameworks, AUC, OSAA, UNECA and UNDP renewed their strong commitment to promote peer learning, sharing of good practices and experiences among African countries;
2. In line with the Marrakech Declaration, they acknowledged the necessity to urgently work on the modalities of putting in place the Solidarity Fund for Data and Statistics in Africa and mobilize the necessary resources;
3. Under the VNR process, African Member States underscored the urge to be assisted and provided with the necessary capacity building, using all relevant tools including ECA's Integrated Planning and Reporting software, in order to track and align their National Planning Frameworks with the SDGs and Agenda 2063;
4. They stressed the need to prioritize capacity development interventions to assist African member States, civil society and private sector in addressing the challenges and building upon the opportunities articulated in both the VNR reports and the ARFSD outcomes. In this view, a follow-up mechanism is critical to keep tracking of the progress made and promote accountability among the organizing partners;
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5. The aforementioned Partnership will continue to encourage, mobilize and provide technical and logistical support for African Member States to participate in the VNR process and enhance coordination in the implementation and monitoring processes related to the SDGs and Agenda 2063;
6. Inclusion of all relevant parties through engaging parliaments, civil society, private sector and academia must be ensured in the implementation of both Agendas.
