Strategies to deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals in Africa

With one-third of the 2030 Agenda journey already complete, it is an opportune time to examine Africa's progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) so far as well as assess what adjustments to strategies are needed to overcome the remaining obstacles. The SDGs provide time-bound targets in key sectors--including health, education, employment, energy, infrastructure, and the environment--for all nations to achieve. Nowhere is the need to achieve these targets larger than in Africa. While progress in some areas and countries is encouraging, overall, the region will need to redouble its efforts if it is to achieve the SDGs by 2030. To be successful, there is need for effective and coordinated partnerships to domesticate the SDGs--i.e., to fully transpose the SDG ecosystem into national and regional planning and implementation mechanisms--as well as the African Union's (AU) Agenda 2063, and to bridge the large financing and data gaps.