Even if Ethiopia did not do well in terms of meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) because of the many global challenges, the government will work to better achieve the goals set for 2030, according to Ministry of Planning and Development.
A consultative workshop on Ethiopia’s Voluntary National Review (VNR) on SDGs for 2022 was held today with the aim to collect necessary inputs to further develop the report to be presented to the High-Level Political Forum.
It is to be recalled that Ethiopia had conducted its 2017 VNR focusing on the methods and approaches of integrating the SDGs into the national context.
After implementing the SDGs for six years, the country is now preparing to conduct and present a VNR in July, 2022 in New York.
Planning and Development Minister Fitsum Aseffa said at the workshop held today that gathering inputs for the report is useful.
She added that Ethiopia has made great strides in term of mainstreaming regional and global development agendas into its national development plans.
According to the minister, the Ethiopian government spends an average of 62 percent on pro-poor areas, and this plays a key role in achieving SDGs.
Fitsum explained that some countries allocate different budgets for SDGs and national budgets. This is a big challenge for them to achieve the goals effectively
“SDGs have no separate plans in our country. The biggest Ethiopian best experience on the world stage is not about planning for SDGs alone, but planning as part of a national plan. As a result, the government did not allocate budget for the SDGs.”
Despite global challenges that affect the overall implementation of the development plan, the country has seen good results in a number of indicators.
“As with any country, there are indications that we did not do well because of these problems. By paying attention to the implementation of these indicators, however, we will work to better achieve the goals set for 2030.”
Finance Minister Ahmed Shide stated on the occasion that the purpose of the workshop is to incorporate unaddressed issues in the report.
Improvements will be made by adding inputs collected from participants, he said, adding that efforts would be made to provide a report that highlights the situation in the country and emphasize the need to focus on issues that need to be addressed by assessing defects, not just successes.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development invites countries to prepare VNRs to facilitate the sharing of national experience, including successes, challenges and lessons learned, with a view to accelerating implementation of the SDGs.
