COVID-19 acute phase is about to end, and building stability against the next outbreak will be essential to attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed stated in her remarks during the UN conference that opened in Kigali, Rwanda, on March 3 Thursday.
The Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development is being held to check progress towards executing the SDGs and the African Union’s (AU) Agenda 2063.
The UN Economic Commission convened the three-day meeting for Africa (ECA).
Ms Mohammed summarized five preferences to guide the deliberations, starting with the pandemic response.
Vaccination:
She stated that their target is to vaccinate 70 percent of the world by July 2022, which is our primary objective.
She further said, “We must also build stronger and more strong health systems in order to invest in primary health systems more and to the health surveillance systems, as well as greater production of vaccines, diagnostics and treatments.”
Energy Food Systems:
Her next point is the need for “supercharge” just transitions in energy, food systems, and digital connectivity.
Ms Mohammed stated that we need an energy transition that is going to give us access to clean water and affordable energy while protecting livelihoods.
She further mentioned the partnership that will support South Africa, which was launched at COP26, which has set a helpful precedent for international collaboration.
Ms Mohammed stated that sustainable and resilient food systems guarantee to give a healthy diet and nutrition while restoring and protecting nature. Meanwhile, affordable connectivity and digital skills are needed to create more job opportunities for young people.
Support to Education:
In her next step, she focused on the Deputy Secretary-General highlighted the need for education in order to recover from the pandemic.
She warned by saying that in the developing countries especially, the pandemic risks generating a generational catastrophe.
In September 2021, the UN Secretary-General convened a Summit on Transforming Education.
Ms Mohammed said the occasion would continue to pledge to education as a pre-eminent public good, in addition to mobilizing action and solutions.
General Equality:
In the end, she highlighted the point of gender equality and economic transformation.
She stated that over 70 percent across Africa, the majority of them are women- continue to fight for their livelihoods in the informal economy, which is an afterthought in economic techniques and metrics.”
The Accelerator seeks to create 400 million new jobs in the care, green, and digital sectors and expand protection to half of the global population by 2030.
