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SDGs: Taking Overall Devt to a New Level

24 Dec 2015

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Abimbola Akosile writes on the need to step development down to all levels, after attending an intensive training of West African media practitioners on the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are billed to kick off in Nigeria on January 1, 2016

New York, USA in September was an eye-opener. But Calabar in Nigeria in December was another illuminating experience. This reporter, who was rather fortunate to be at both locations at the specified times, discovered one cogent fact.
There is need for the world in general, and Nigeria in particular, to embrace and explore the myriad opportunities in the new 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are successor goals to the previous narrower eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

In New York during the 70th UNGA, which was attended by around 100 heads of governments including President Muhammadu Buhari, and even Pope Francis, the world adopted a new framework for sustainable development, to succeed the MDGs.
On September 25, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the 17 SDGs and 169 targets. The SDGs are the successor framework to the MDGs which expire on December 31, 2015. The lessons at the global forum were many and Nigeria was a willing participant.
In Calabar, this reporter was also among the 32 journalists selected from across Nigeria, Ghana and Gambia to attend an intensive two-day training, which was organised recently by the United Nations Millennium Campaign (UNMC) with support from the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA).

Vital Objectives
The various objectives behind the media training included to build the knowledge base of media practitioners across West Africa on the SDGs; to build capacity of media practitioners on their roles in communicating and popularising the SDGs; and to build capacity of media practitioners in influencing the implementation, monitoring and reporting of the goals.
Other objectives included to understand the role of new media platforms in advancing SDGs advocacy, monitoring and reporting; and develop tools that will enhance the capacity of the media to perform their roles in the communication, reporting and monitoring of the SDGs.
The forum also sought to create partnership and networking opportunities and platforms for media practitioners to share ideas, skills and knowledge on the role of the media in development process especially their role in monitoring and reporting on implementation of the SDGs.
It also sought to provide opportunities for media practitioners to support and also benefit from the work of other development actors such as civil society and the academia to enhance their roles in the SDGs.

Principles and Messages
Taking journalists through a presentation titled SDGs: Core principles and Key messages, Acting Regional Coordinator, Africa of the UNMC, Mr. Hilary Ogbonna said the SDGs are continuing with the ‘unfinished business’ of the MDGs and integrating the 3 dimensions of Sustainable Development, which include universality and inclusiveness,
Talking about poverty and the other half, Ogbonna, a lawyer by profession, noted that over 800 million still live in abject poverty and hunger; that sustainable food production remains a huge challenge; and climate change is looming large and upon us
He admitted that the MDGs failed to address inequalities within and amongst nations; the MDGs health goals were restrictive and heavily disease focused; the education goals were not embracing of the larger institutional issues; and that water and sanitation is still a major problem with over a billion lacking access to sanitation including toilets, while MDGs financing was impacted by the economic recessions and general low commitments.
On the issue of universality and inclusiveness, Ogbonna affirmed that the SDGs will be universally applicable but flexible to met specific needs of countries and peoples (common but differentiated responsibilities).
He added that the SDGs have reframed global partnerships to make it truly “global” with a clear accountability framework for both developed and developing countries.

The Goals
Goal 1: End poverty in all its forms everywhere
Goal 2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture
Goal 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages

Goal 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote life-long learning opportunities for all
Goal 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls

Goal 6: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
Goal 7: Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all
Goal 8: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
Goal 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation.
Goal 10: Reduce inequality within and among countries
Goal 11: Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
Goal 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
Goal 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts*
Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
Goal 15: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt  and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
Goal 16: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
Goal 17: Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development.

Analysing the SDGs
Under the 17 SDGs are a new set of goals, which include hunger, water and sanitation, inclusive economic growth, climate change, human settlements, livelihoods and employment, inequalities, energy, infrastructure and industrialisation.
There is also a need for strategic communication of the SDGs using multiple platforms, including National, Zonal and State launches of the SDGs; National and State SDGs Information Centres (NSIC & SSIC); use of traditional Media (radio, newspaper, television), and also social media.
To help realise the new SDGs, there is also a need to develop national and state Action Plans with mandates, budgets and deadline; focusing on key results and milestones; and focusing on innovative and participatory approaches to service delivery.
On the issue of financing the SDGs, which is a critical component for their realisation, Ogbonna mentioned the need for deployment of traditional, new and innovative sources of financing, and continuation of the utilisation of the Debt Relief Gains with the identification of additional funding channels to ensure sustainable financing.
He highlighted the issue of early determination of costs at federal and state levels; integrating the SDGs programmes into annual budgets with possible targets and ceilings; and reforms in the procurement process to ensure efficient service delivery and accountability.
To provide a legal framework for the realisation of the SDGs, Ogbonna sought the need for a legal proclamation or adaptation of the declaration; need to involve the National and State Assemblies to enact laws on climate change, addressing inequalities, public private partnerships; and a legal framework to support institutions such as the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) to play a more effective role in data coordination.
There is also a need for inter-Governmental Partnerships and multi-level governance; better coordination of programmes to fit into local level needs; broader partnership with private sector, and linkages between policy and research: Involvement of the academia in programme planning, monitoring and evaluation.

Specific Roles for Media

At the forum in Calabar, specific roles for the media were identified in the process of realisation of the SDGs. These include communication; stakeholders' mobilisation; building knowledge; ensuring accountability; Monitoring and Evaluation; shadow reporting; media advocacy, and building partnerships.
Drivers of the SDGs include access to information; access to justice; accountability, capable institutions, participation, peace and security, an informed media, and an active civil society.

Food for Thought

At the Calabar forum, which had various presentations from experienced resource persons and facilitators like the Executive Director of the International Press Centre (IPC) Mr. Lanre Arogundade and Hon. Nkoyo Toyo, it was noted that the SDGs are very broad and cover almost every economic, social and environment aspects of sustainable development.
The SDGs will require technical expertise which may not be readily available especially at State level, and the need for strategic development partners’ support to Governments at federal and state level cannot over-emphasised.
Early implementation of the post 2015 agenda will be key to achieving success with multi-sectoral plans and strategies; innovative programmes, sustained financing and focus on results, it was affirmed.
Experts believe that the SDGs are coming at a special time when Nigeria is transiting to a new democratic regime at national and state levels, and this may just be a great opportunity for their realisation and overall national development of the country. That is a worthwhile goal.

QUOTE
“Experts believe that the SDGs are coming at a special time when Nigeria is transiting to a new democratic regime at national and state levels, and this may just be a great opportunity for their realisation and overall national development of the country. That is a worthwhile goal