TANGO engages CSOs on SDGs ahead of UN’s Summit of the Future

Group Photo at Event (c) Askanwi

By Edward Francis Dalliah

The Association of Non-Governmental Organizations (TANGO) engaged members of Civil Society, Community Leaders, Women, and Policymakers on Tuesday 17th September 2024 in a stakeholder discussion on the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) ahead of the Summit of the Future.

The 17 SDGs were established at the 2012 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro and were adopted by all United Nations member States in 2015 at the UN Sustainable Development Summit in New York with the commitment to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). In doing so UN member States can tackle some of the more pressing challenges facing the world such as hunger, quality education, climate action, peace justice and strong institutions within a 15 year period.

According to the UN, the objective was to produce a set of universal goals that meet the urgent environmental, political, and economic challenges facing the world while replacing the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which started a global effort in 2000 to tackle the indignity of poverty.

In another iteration of this, the Summit of the Future is a high-level event, that will bring world leaders together at the UN Headquarters in New York, to forge a new international consensus on how to deliver a better present and safeguard the future. It is expected to kick off from 22nd to 23rd September 2024.

Speaking at the opening, TANGO Chair Mrs Yadicon Njie Eribo highlighted that they have found themselves at a crucial juncture in their collective journey as stakeholders standing on the threshold of the Summit of the Future which is not “merely an event [but] represents a turning point in our global efforts to shape a world that is equitable, sustainable, and for all”.

She reminded stakeholders present of the crucial role they have to play as they “are often the unsung heroes in the global effort to address the world’s most pressing challenges”. She highlighted that their “participation in the summit will ensure that our strategies are holistic, responsive, and grounded in real-world experience”.

TANGO Chairperson Mrs Yadicon Njie Eribo (c) Askanwi

The Development Adviser of the Office of the President Mr Falu Njie while also delivering a speech at the opening revealed that since the SDGs were adopted “only 17% out of almost 200 hundred indicators that were identified to measure [the] progress of the achievement are on track”.

According to the 2024 United Nations Report “the 2024 progress assessment reveals the world is severely off-track to achieve the 2030 Agenda. – Only 17% are progressing as expected to be achieved by 2030. Nearly half (48%) exhibit moderate to severe deviations from the desired trajectory, with 30% showing marginal progress and 18% indicating moderate progress. Alarmingly, 18% have stagnated, and 17% have regressed below the 2015 baseline levels”.

2024 UN Progress Report (c) UN

With such achievement after nine years, Mr Njie says “it is a cause for concern” while pointing out that there are several things that have affected the progress of the SDGs such as the Covid 19, conflicts around the world and the growing climate chaos among other factors.

Meanwhile, focusing on how the country is contributing to the SDGs, the UNDP’s National Economist Ms Bintou Barry said the New National Development Plan (NDP) “YIRRIWA” will play a significant role in fulfilling the country’s global and regional commitments to these adopted goals including the Africa Union Agenda 2063.

The National Development Plan (NDP) was unveiled in February this year by President Adam Barrow which “will help address the country’s recovery needs in the short and medium term, anchored on green recovery and resilience, and also further help enhance growth, reduce poverty and inequality, address gender disparities, build resilience, enhance youth employment, and more importantly address the triple development challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and the risk of debt distress thus by extension contributing to the realisation of our global and regional commitments such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and African Union (AU) Agenda 2063”.