Accra, Ghana//-Ghana has put in place a robust institutional arrangement that promotes a “whole-of government” and “whole-of-society” approach to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Progress has been made in many areas; however, like many other countries, progress is not yet at the speed and scale required to fully achieve the SDGs by 2030. Significant improvements have been observed across many of the social and economic pillars. For instance, the proportion of the population with access to electricity improved from 65.1% in 2010 to 86.3% in 2021, while institutional maternal mortality ratio dropped from 151 deaths to 96.8 deaths per 100,000 between 2016 and 2021.
Between 2017 and 2019, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew at an annual average rate of 6.8%, but undermined by the pandemic, GDP growth dropped steeply to 0.4% in 2020.
As evidenced in the chart below, Ghana is currently not on track to achieve most of the Goals, although the direction of progress is positive in nine out of the seventeen Goals.
Crucially, progress has stagnated or declined when it comes to seven of the Goals, namely, Zero Hunger (Goal 2), Good Health and Wellbeing (SDG3), Sustainable Cities and Communities (Goal 11), Life Below Water (Goal) 14, Life on Land (SDG15); Peace Justice and Strong Institutions (Goal 16), and Partnerships for the Goals (SDG17).
Timely access to accurate and well disaggregated data poses a constraint to the effective tracking of progress in implementation of the Goals. And crucially, the huge funding gap estimated at $43.2 billion per annum is undermining accelerated implementation of the Goals.
In ramping up efforts to meet the SDGs, Ghana recognises that collective action remains critical for success, and for that reason, continues to adopt a multistakeholder approach with strong collaboration among government, private sector, civil society, development partners, traditional authorities, youth, the media amongst others in order to accelerate action on the SDGs.
And there is also the recognition that the huge financing gap presents significant investment opportunity for the private sector, notably in sustainable forestry and agriculture, energy, health, low-carbon infrastructure, pharmaceuticals, housing, education, water supply and the sanitation sector.
Ghana will continue to strive to be a leader in the implementation of the SDGs, by leveraging innovative, dynamic and smart solutions to address implementation and financing challenges to enhance prospects for success.
The Sustainable Development Goals in a period of pandemic
Managing the Risks and Leveraging Opportunities
The ravaging effects of the pandemic have devastated livelihoods and businesses and stalled, and in some instances, eroded some of the development gains achieved in recent years. For the first time in 20 years, globally, extreme poverty rate went up in 2020.
It is estimated that about 120 million people were pushed back into extreme poverty following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, amid major disruptions in education services, job losses, a rise in food insecurity and domestic violence against women.
The pandemic also brought to the fore, the huge inequalities within and among countries, especially in relation to assess to technology, social protection, and health care.
As the world has re-opened up and began to recover from the deleterious effects of the pandemic, the reality is that countries are resetting their development priorities, which is the right thing to do. In doing so, there is a risk that resources would be shifted away from critical SDGs actions, as countries may be inclined to cherry-pick from among the goals.
This will not augur well for the global agenda since the goals and targets are interlinked and indivisible, and therefore requires an integrated approach across sectors and among stakeholders for successful implementation.
Additionally, the real temptation to focus on short-term measures to address life-saving, livelihood and business survival needs could detract from critical development imperatives which require medium- to long-term perspectives. For instance, in the bid to revitalise businesses to boost the economy, the principles of decent work and green production may be down-played or neglected outright.
But this should not be the case. Building back and forward better from the pandemic cannot be de-linked from actions on the SDGs. Indeed, within the current economic, environmental and geo-political context, the tenets of the SDGs remain hugely relevant as they provide a useful framework for re-setting the world on an inclusive, prosperous, peaceful, greener, bluer and resilient pathway. Despite the setbacks, COVID-19 provides some opportunities too.
The increased awareness about the necessity of robust and universal healthcare and social protection systems serves as a strong booster for further efforts in strengthening these systems, thus helping to achieve the SDGs related to health, employment, poverty, hunger, and equality.
Also, various emergency response measures that were put in place provide an opportunity for governments and businesses to develop these further into robust emergency response systems, making them more capable to withstand future shocks.
The crisis has re-enforced the interdependence of our world and the utmost value in being each other’s keeper, and in prioritising the needs of the most vulnerable in society. This provides a basis for governments, local authorities, businesses, civil society organisations, among others to forge partnerships to address development challenges.
The spirit of solidarity, quick and robust action to address the effects of the pandemic that our world witnessed, must be brought to bear on the implementation of the Goals. The quantum of stimulus and pecuniary compensation packages that were made available to deal with the pandemic make it clear that, when it truly matters, the world has the resources to deal with pressing and existential challenges.
Curled from 2020-2021 Annual Report, SDGs Advisory Unit Office of the President, Ghana
