Kampala, Uganda, 12 April 2025 – The clearest way to realize Africa’s sustainable development ambitions is to link its pursuit of the global Sustainable Development Goals – SDGs with the region’s own priorities as reflected in Agenda 2063 of the African Union. These messages were echoed by member States, local governments, young people, stakeholders and development partners at the 2025 Regional Preparatory Workshop on Voluntary and National Reviews, held as a pre-event to the 11th Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development.
The first day of the workshop, focused on national approaches, was opened by Albert Byamugisha, Head of the Sustainable Development Goal Secretariat in the Office of the Prime Minister of Uganda, Botho Kebabonye Bayendi, Director of the Office of Strategic Planning and Delivery of the African Union Commission; Sara Tawfik Hamouda, Senior Continental Governance Officer with the African Peer Review Mechanism; and Nassim Oulmane, Chief of the Green and Blue Economy Section at the Economic Comission for Africa - ECA. These speakers identified common opportunities including Africa’s prominent global role, the tools of Agenda 2063 and other regional visions, dedication by Africa’s young people and vibrant civil society in pushing forward towards the region’s ambitious goals.
Day two of the workshop, which honed in on local-level issues and solutions, was introduced by Aboubakri Diaw, ECA’s Chief of Staff and Acting Director, Gender, Poverty and Social Policy Division; Amson Sibanda, Chief of the National Strategies and Capacity-Building Branch, UN-DESA; Martino Miraglia, Coordinator, SDG Localization and Local Governments Team UN-Habitat; and Mara Cossu, Lead, Sustainable Development Unit, Directorate General for European and International Affairs and Sustainable Finance, Ministry of Environment and Energy Security, Italy. Speakers underscored the urgent need to translate global development aspirations into tangible local action and the opportunity presented by Voluntary Local Reviews to address complex, interconnected challenges.
As signatories to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, member States are required to regularly report on their policies and frameworks in place to foster progress towards the SDGs. Complementary to this, cities, districts and localities across the region have pursued their own grassroots approaches to sustainable development, reflecting the unique contexts and challenges they face. These Voluntary Local Reviews harness consultations with local stakeholders, local data collection, and other means to connect with partners on the ground.
Deliberations identified unique African-generated solutions in VNRs, including citizen-generated data collection and analysis, partnerships between African countries and localities and even with other regions through South-South cooperation, participatory planning and budgeting, and continued opportunities for peer learning through robust platforms for knowledge and experience exchange. As highlighted in discussions, VLRs are the backbone to a larger planning process, from data gathering, planning to investment.
While moderating the annual townhall connecting civil society and other stakeholders with the national and local reviews, Ms. Karima Bounemra Ben Soltane, Director of the African Institute for Economic Development and Planning, highlighted that to accelerate progress towards the SDGs, Africa needs to capitalize on innovation, the skills and entrepreneurship of young people, the empowerment of women and other stakeholders in the development process. These priorities have informed the formation by IDEP of the African Young Economists’ Network.
During a VNR and VLRs plenary roundtable on driving inclusive, science-based & data-driven solutions to boost growth, jobs and accelerate the implementation of Agenda 2023 and Agenda 2063, Ngone Diop, the moderator and Director of the ECA West African Subregional Office, stressed the need to accelerate change through acting on data-driven insights, inclusive participation and strategic alignment. The data revolution is key, she said, stressing that without high-quality, disaggregated data, there can be no transformation.
Member States, local governments and stakeholders present commended ECA for providing this convening forum and technical support to their pursuit of their sustainable development agendas. Following the workshop, the 10 African countries preparing VNRs will finalize their reports and present them at the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in New York in July, while support will continue in building capacity around SDG localization.
As stressed by Ms. B Bounemra Ben Soltane, “we have very little time to 2030. We need to be realistic and focus on quick wins, and what can make a difference in the lives of people.”
Issued by:
Communications Section
Economic Commission for Africa
PO Box 3001
Addis Ababa
Ethiopia
Tel: +251 11 551 5826
E-mail: eca-info@un.org