United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA)
1. In the past year, has the governing body of your organization taken any decisions to advance sustainable, inclusive, science- and evidence-based solutions for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and ensure that no one is left behind? If yes, please briefly mention these decisions taken by your governing body in 2024 and provide the respective symbols.
2. During 2024, what actions have your entities taken to improve coordination among UN system entities across policy and normative activities as well as with ECOSOC subsidiary bodies with a view to increase impact and accelerate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda? Please provide any relevant links.
- Coordination with RC System: ECA has coordinated with DCO and the RC system to ensure a seamless support to various process in member States including: 1) pursuit of Voluntary National Reviews of SDG Progress; 2) support to member States in harnessing critical energy transition minerals (CETMs), including sensitization of RCs to the work of the Secretary General’s Panel on CETMs and dissemination of CETM tool for RCOs developed by the Secretariat.
- The West Africa Office of ECA contributed to the drafting of Sierra Leone UNSDCF 2025-2030 to enhance collaboration with the UNCT and coherence in country level. Areas of contribution include capacity-building support in data collection and reporting to monitor progress towards the SDGs and promotion of inclusive and sustainable trade and economic transformation through development of AfCFTA national strategies and guidelines. The same kind of contribution was done for Niger UNSDCF in 2023 and undergoing for Niger 2024 Country Common Assessment (CCA) development.
- The joint secretariat and opportunity and issue-based coalition 4 (co-convened by UNECA, UNEP, UNDP, and FAO) of the Regional Collaborative Platform for Africa (Co-chaired by UNECA and UNDP) organized the dialogue on carbon markets and development to inform regional directors and resident coordinators of the United Nations, commissioners of the African Union and representatives of African States about the development of carbon markets on the continent and its associated potential and challenges. The dialogue contributed to the identification of ways to overcome the aforesaid challenges and, in the long term, help countries to reap the major benefits that the markets offer, including the additional source of sustainable revenue streams to States, communities, businesses and households and synergistical effect on scaling up progress towards the achievement of the SDGs (16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 9, 7, 3, 2) the goals and targets of Agenda 2063 and CBD.
3. In the past year, has your organization organized any intergovernmentally mandated conferences, forums or events that contributed to the achievement of the SDGs, or has been in the process of planning and organizing any such mandated events to be held next year?
Event Name: | Tenth Session of the Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development |
Event Dates: | 23 - 25 April 2024 |
Event Location (City, Country): | Addis Ababa, Ethiopia |
Relevant SDGs: | All SDGs with a special focus on SDG 1 (no poverty), SDG 2 (zero hunger), SDG 13 (climate action), SDG 16 (peace, justice, and strong institutions), and SDG 17 (partnerships for the Goals). |
Description (max 150 words): please include a short summary of the event’s mandate and contributions to the SDGs, including its main outcome(s) | The Forum is mandated by resolution 939 (XLIX) of ECA Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development of 2016 pursuant to General Assembly resolutions 67/290, 70/1 and 70/299. The tenth session of the Forum conducted a regional follow-up and review of progress made, facilitated peer learning and identified transformative solutions and action to accelerate implementation of the SDGs (focusing on SDGs 1, 2,13, 16 and 17) and the goals of Agenda 2063. The session:
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Website (if applicable) |
Event Name | African Regional VNR-VLR Workshop |
Event Dates | 22 April 2024 |
Event Location (City, Country) | Addis Ababa, Ethiopia |
Relevant SDGs | All |
Description (max 150 words): please include a short summary of the event’s mandate and contributions to the SDGs, including its main outcome(s) | Workshop to share lessons learned, challenges and best practices amongst the region’s 2024 VNR countries; technical support provided by ECA and partners in order to improve and finalize VNRs for presentation at HLPF. All SDGs reviewed, with a focus on SDGs 1, 2, 13, 16 and 17. |
Website (if applicable) |
Event Name | Intergovernmental Committee of Senior Officials and Experts for North Africa |
Event Dates | 19-21 November 2024 |
Event Location (City, Country) | Rabat (Morocco) |
Relevant SDGs | 8 and 9 |
Description (max 150 words): please include a short summary of the event’s mandate and contributions to the SDGs, including its main outcome(s) | The event aims to enhance members States capacity and commitment by accelerating the implementation of the Agreement Establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in North and West Africa through digital transformation and economic diversification. This strategic focus is highly timely, given the African Union adoption of accelerated implementation of the AfCFTA as its theme for 2023. It also aligns with the question of digital connectivity, one of the six key transitions, which provide catalytic entry points for accelerating progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.
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Event Name | Second Session of the Economic Commission for Africa's Committee on Economic Governance |
Event Dates | November 16–17, 2024 |
Event Location (City, Country) | Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (hybrid format) |
Relevant SDGs | All SDGs |
Description (max 150 words): please include a short summary of the event’s mandate and contributions to the SDGs, including its main outcome(s) | The second session of the Committee on Economic Governance convened to address Africa’s progress on sustainable economic governance, with a particular focus on financing strategies. Participants, including representatives from the Economic Commission for Africa and member states, discussed challenges in financing for sustainable development, domestic resource mobilization, international tax cooperation, and support for least developed countries. The meeting aimed to strengthen domestic financing frameworks and aligned economic governance with the 2030 and 2063 agendas, highlighting the role of innovative financing in advancing Africa's sustainable development goals. Outcomes included policy recommendations and preparation for the fourth International Conference on Financing for Development in 2025. |
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Event Name | Regional Consultation for the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development in Africa |
Event Dates | November 18–19, 2024 |
Event Location (City, Country) | Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (hybrid format) |
Relevant SDGs | All SDGs |
Description (max 150 words): please include a short summary of the event’s mandate and contributions to the SDGs, including its main outcome(s) | This regional consultation was a preparatory event for the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development. Organized by UNECA, it brought together policymakers, development partners, and economic experts to address Africa's significant financing challenges, such as domestic resource mobilization, debt sustainability, and private financing. The consultation included sessions on public finance, trade, technology, and international tax reform, aiming to advance sustainable development financing aligned with SDG and Agenda 2063 goals. Outcomes included recommendations for enhancing financing frameworks, promoting economic resilience, and fostering international cooperation to support Africa's development priorities. |
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Event Name | Side Event on the Launch of the 2024 Africa Sustainable Development Report at the High-Level Political Forum 2024 |
Event Dates | July 16, 2024 |
Event Location (City, Country) | New York, the United States |
Relevant SDGs | SDGs 1, 2, 13, 16, 17 |
Description (max 150 words): please include a short summary of the event’s mandate and contributions to the SDGs, including its main outcome(s) | This side event, organized alongside the 2024 High-Level Political Forum, introduced the 2024 Africa Sustainable Development Report, tracking Africa’s progress on the 2030 Agenda and Agenda 2063. The report, a collaboration of the African Union Commission, UNECA, AfDB, and UNDP, assessed challenges faced by African countries, particularly amid global crises. Key themes included financing constraints, strengthening partnerships, and regional alignment. The event also highlighted policy recommendations and promoted dialogue among African leaders, regional bodies, and development partners on implementing sustainable solutions to advance both agendas and mitigate the impacts of global crises on Africa. |
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Event Name | Leveraging Digital Technologies for Integrated Planning held as of part of the Tenth African Regional Forum on Sustainable Development |
Event Dates | April 18, 2024 |
Event Location (City, Country) | New York, the United States |
Relevant SDGs | SDGs 1, 2, 13, 16, 17 |
Description (max 150 words): please include a short summary of the event’s mandate and contributions to the SDGs, including its main outcome(s) | This virtual event, focused on using digital technologies to support integrated development planning for advancing the SDGs and Agenda 2063 amid multiple crises. National governments have been challenged by a dynamic development landscape marked by rapid technological advancements, climate shocks, and economic crises. The forum shared best practices, discuss the benefits of digital planning tools, and assessed the effectiveness of the Integrated Planning and Reporting Toolkit (IPRT) in aiding member states. Participants explored how digital tools enhance data analysis, monitoring, and alignment of development priorities with international commitments, fostering resilient and adaptive planning frameworks. |
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Event Name | Africa Ministerial Conference on the preparation for the 69th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW 69) on thirty-year implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (Beijing + 30 review). |
Event Dates | 6th November 2024 |
Event Location (City, Country) | Addis Ababa, Ethiopia |
Relevant SDGs | 1,2, 3,4, 5 & 10 |
Description (max 150 words): please include a short summary of the event’s mandate and contributions to the SDGs, including its main outcome(s) | The Conference was attended by African Ministers in Charge of Gender and Women’s Affairs to discuss the Beijing+30 review process, to review and endorse the Common Africa Position (CAP) on Beijing+30, and to reflect on the level of implementation of the CSW68. The conference reviewed Member States' adherence to the Beijing Platform for Action commitments, emphasizing progress, identifying emerging and persistent challenges, and drawing lessons. Actionable recommendations were made for governments and stakeholders to address challenges and accelerate the GEWE agenda across Africa, focusing on policy and legislative frameworks, monitoring mechanisms, and capacity development. CAP will inform the global report to be presented to CSW69. |
Website (if applicable) | https://www.uneca.org/eca-events/beijing30
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Event Name | Second Regional Review of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration (GCM) in Africa |
Event Dates | 8-10 October 2024 |
Event Location (City, Country) | Addis Ababa, Ethiopia |
Relevant SDGs | SDG10, SDG10.7 |
Description (max 150 words): please include a short summary of the event’s mandate and contributions to the SDGs, including its main outcome(s) | This important meeting brought together African Member States, intergovernmental organizations, United Nations bodies, and various stakeholders to assess the progress on implementing the GCM and formulate recommendations for the next International Migration Review Forum in 2026. Further, the dialogue will explore opportunities to strengthen the linkages between the GCM and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and enhance regional cooperation on migration. The conference will result in an outcome document that will feed into the 2026 International Migration Review Forum |
Website (if applicable) |
4. In the past year, has your organization published or planned to publish any analytical work, guidance or reference materials, or toolkits to guide and support the implementation of SDGs at national, regional and global levels? Please select up to three to highlight, especially those that address interlinkages among the SDGs.
Resource Name | Toolkit for RCOs, UNCTs and Agencies on Critical Energy Transition Minerals |
Relevant SDGs (list all relevant goals) | 1, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17 |
Publishing entity/entities | UN Working Group on Extractives |
Target audience | RCOs, UNCTs |
Description (max 150 words) | A toolkit devised by the UN Working Group on Extractives, including ECA, to harness existing tools, guidelines and expertise across the UN system and beyond and bring this to the attention of the RC System and UNCTs in order to better support their countries navigate the CETM boom. In response to requests received by RCs from their respective countries for greater support on this topic. |
Language(s) | English |
Website (if applicable) |
Resource Name | African Perspectives of a Just Transition to low-carbon economies |
Relevant SDGs (list all relevant goals) | SDG 13, SDG 7 |
Publishing entity/entities | UNECA |
Target audience | Policy makers |
Description (max 150 words) | Case studies on African perspectives of a just transition to low-carbon economies for five countries (DRC, Eswatini, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana and Botswana).
The publication presents key messages on Just Transition Framework; Trade Implications of the energy transition; Economic Implications of the energy transition; Mitigation Implications of the energy transition; Jobs implications of the energy transition; and Finance implications of the energy transition. |
Language(s) | English |
Website (if applicable) | Full report: https://repository.uneca.org/handle/10855/50236 Summary for policy makers: https://repository.uneca.org/handle/10855/50235 |
Resource Name | West Africa 2024 progress report on SDG and agenda 2063 |
Relevant SDGs (list all relevant goals) | 17 |
Publishing entity/entities | ECA-Sub regional Office for West Africa |
Target audience | 15 countries of ECOWAS (ministry in charge of development planning), ECOWAS, 15 UNCTs |
Description (max 150 words) | The 2024 West Africa Sustainable Development Progress Report provides an overview of all 17 SDGs in West Africa and assesses in depth the 5 SDGs targeted by the 2025 High-Level Political Forum (HLPF), namely SDG 3(Good Health and Wellbeing), SDG 5 (Gender Equality), SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), SDG 14 (Life below water) and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals). The Goal 1 (No poverty), Goal 2 (Zero hunger) and Goal 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong institutions) are also analyzed in depth to cover specific development challenges in West Africa. The report assesses the progress of indicators related to these eight goals where data is available for the 15 countries, including trends, lessons learned, and challenges in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and Agenda 2063 and recommends actions to accelerate progress.
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Language(s) | French and English |
Website (if applicable) | Not yet |
Resource Name | Development of Liberia and Cabo Verde AfCFTA national implementation strategy [one of the 12 mega projects of agenda 2063] |
Relevant SDGs (list all relevant goals) | 1;2;8; 9; 17 |
Publishing entity/entities | ECA- Sub regional Office for West Africa |
Target audience | Liberia and Cabo Verde private sector and related government trade facilitation actors |
Description (max 150 words) | The main purpose of the national AfCFTA implementation strategy is to complement the broader development framework, particularly in relation to trade and industrialization policies, with the goal of supporting the effective implementation of the AfCFTA at both national and regional levels by deepening integration into regional and continental markets.
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Language(s) | English and French |
Website (if applicable) | Not yet |
Resource Name | An Integrated Assessment Approach for Socio-Economic Implications of the Desert Locust in Eastern Africa, |
Relevant SDGs (list all relevant goals) | 1, 2, 3, 7, 12, 13, 15 |
Publishing entity/entities | Earth Future (12) |
Target audience | Policymakers, scholars |
Description (max 150 words) | A system dynamic model for predicting the outbreaks of desert locusts taking into consideration various factors, incl. socioeconomic, bio-physical, climatic, meteorologic al, etc. |
Language(s) | English |
Website (if applicable) | https://doi.org/10.1029/2023EF003841
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Resource Name | Samoa Pathway-Atlantic, Indian Ocean and South China Seas Region: Review of 10 years of implementation |
Relevant SDGs (list all relevant goals) | All |
Publishing entity/entities | UNECA, UNDESA |
Target audience | Policymakers, scholars |
Description (max 150 words) | 10Y Review of the implementation of Samoa Pathway for the Atlantic, Indian Ocean and South China Seas Region (AIS) region comprising all African SIDS plus the Maldives and Singapore |
Language(s) | English |
Website (if applicable) |
Resource Name | Integrated Planning and Reporting Toolkit (IPRT) |
Relevant SDGs (list all relevant goals) | All SDGs |
Publishing entity/entities | Development Planning Section of the Macroeconomics, Finance and Governance Division |
Target audience | National Planning Entities, Ministry of Finance and all line Ministries |
Description (max 150 words) | The IPRT is a web-based application developed to digitize national and subnational planning frameworks, enabling better alignment with global and continental agendas, including the 2030 Agenda, Agenda 2063, and the Doha Programme of Action. The IPRT facilitates diagnostics of results frameworks, multi-agenda alignment, seamless tracking and reporting on plan performance, and integration with financing frameworks. Policymakers can use the toolkit to identify synergies between agendas and address gaps in results framework, such as missing targets or indicators. The IPRT also includes a sub-plan functionality for digitalizing sectoral and regional plans, supporting alignment at multiple planning levels. A financing module based on the Integrated National Financing Framework (INFF) allows government officials to assess financing needs, identify funding gaps, and efficiently coordinate resources, ensuring transparent alignment between budgets and development goals. Visual dashboards and reporting functions further aid in national reviews and performance evaluations. |
Language(s) | English, French, Portuguese |
Website (if applicable) | iprt.uneca.org |
Resource Name | 2024 African Sustainable Development Report (ASDR) |
Relevant SDGs (list all relevant goals) | SDGs 1, 2, 13, 16, 17 |
Publishing entity/entities | ECA, AUC, AfDB and UNDP |
Target audience | UN ECA member States with a focus on national SDG focal persons |
Description (max 150 words) | The 2024 ASDR assessed Africa’s progress on the 2030 Agenda and Agenda 2063, focusing on SDGs under review at the High-Level Political Forum. Findings indicated slow progress, with less than 6% of measurable targets on track for 2030. Major setbacks include a rise in poverty and hunger due to economic and environmental crises, with 281 million Africans facing hunger and 55 million pushed into poverty by 2020. Climate adaptation has been limited, despite Africa's low emissions. Partnerships and financial support have also been below targets, with ODA at only 0.37% of GNI. The report urged increased investment, stronger governance frameworks, and expanded social protections to address the continent's pressing development needs. This annual report is the only report that simultaneously tracks Africa’s performance on the SDGs and the African Union’s Agenda 2063, and is a joint production of leading international and regional agencies instrumental in Africa. |
Language(s) | English and French |
Website (if applicable) | https://www.undp.org/africa/publications/2024-africa-sustainable-development-report |
Resource Name | The Africa Gender Index report 2023: African Women in Times of Crisis. |
Relevant SDGs (list all relevant goals) | 1,2, 3,4, 5 & 10 |
Publishing entity/entities | UNECA and AfDB |
Target audience | Policy makers |
Description (max 150 words) | The report provides comprehensive data highlighting persistent gender disparities across three dimensions—economic and business, social, and participation and empowerment across all 54 African member States. It highlights that progress towards gender equality can be fragile and is prone to setbacks in times of crisis. Overall, although progress towards gender equality has been made, the remaining gender equality gap at the expense of females is substantial. This is especially the case in the Empowerment and Representation Dimension where the index underscores major gender gaps both in the public and private sectors The report provided recommendations for policymakers, including tackling occupational segregation, supporting out-of-school boys and girls to return to education systems, and supporting aspiring women politicians and business leaders to develop policy-making skills, build support networks and cross over into male-dominated sectors. |
Language(s) | English |
Website (if applicable) | The report attached |
Resource Name | Africa Regional Review Report on the Status of Gender Equality and women’s Empowerment in Africa: 30 years since the Beijing declaration and platform for action (Beijing +30) |
Relevant SDGs (list all relevant goals) | 1,2, 3,4, 5 & 10 |
Publishing entity/entities | UNECA, AUC and UN women |
Target audience | Governments, Policy makers, Gender experts, CSO’s and Academic institutions |
Description (max 150 words) | The Africa Regional Review Report on the Status of Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment in Africa: 30 years since the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (Beijing +30) based on national review reports and survey results from forty-one member States. The report highlighted the achievements made by African member States during the past five years in advancing gender equality and women’s rights, as well as priority actions to ensure the accelerated implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. |
Language(s) | Arabic, English, French and Portuguese |
Website (if applicable) |
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Resource Name | Background paper on the status of poverty in Africa |
Relevant SDGs (list all relevant goals) | SDG1 |
Publishing entity/entities | UNECA |
Target audience | African policy makers and practitioners |
Description (max 150 words) | Review of SDG1 on No Poverty and background paper on the status of poverty in Africa in collaboration with UNICEF, ILO, FAO, OSAA, and OHCHR. 2 high-level sessions on SDG 1 on No Poverty were held during the 2024 ARFSD in Addis Ababa. |
Language(s) | English |
Website (if applicable) | Background report on the sub-theme of no poverty (uneca.org) |
Resource Name | ECA POLICY BERIEF: Youth unemployment in Africa: challenges and opportunities |
Relevant SDGs (list all relevant goals) | SDG4, SDG5 |
Publishing entity/entities | UNECA |
Target audience | African policy makers |
Description (max 150 words) | The policy brief suggest that African states should put in place robust policies and programmes to address youth unemployment through support for entrepreneurial skills development. Furthermore, it contends that addressing the data paucity issue is essential for formulating effective policies that empower decisionmakers in shaping a brighter future for the continent’s young people. |
Language(s) | English and French |
Website (if applicable) |
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Resource Name | Africa Migration Report: Climate Change and Migration In Africa |
Relevant SDGs (list all relevant goals) | SDG10.7 |
Publishing entity/entities | UNECA |
Target audience | African policy makers |
Description (max 150 words) | The Africa Migration Report anchors this exploration of climate change and migration dynamics and their interlinkages by emphasizing the imperative need for comprehensive, green-oriented strategies that intertwine economic development, environmental sustainability, and climate resilience. The report underscores the necessity for immediate and concerted action, emphasizing the pivotal role of financial innovation, strategic resource mobilization, and a proactive approach to global initiatives like carbon trading. Only through such holistic and transformative measures can Africa navigate the challenges posed by climate change, foster sustainable development, and chart a resilient course for its future. |
Language(s) | English and French |
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Resource Name | Renewing the social contract to reduce poverty and inequality in Africa |
Relevant SDGs (list all relevant goals) | SDG1 |
Publishing entity/entities | UNECA |
Target audience | African policy makers |
Description (max 150 words) | The policy brief contends that the growing levels of poverty and inequality pose challenges to an increasingly fragile social contract that could fray under the weight of unfulfilled expectations and threaten the attainment of peace, security and prosperity. The impact of ongoing crises on poverty and inequality in Africa and the pathways for establishing a social contract to reduce poverty and inequality on the continent are highlighted in the present policy brief. Efforts to accelerate the reduction of poverty and inequality on the continent and achieve sustainable development must be underpinned by inclusion and equality. Governments must ensure equal access to public goods and opportunities for all. |
Language(s) | English and French |
Website (if applicable) |
5. The United Nations has defined six key transitions, or transformative entry points, that can have catalytic and multiplier effects across the SDGs and which have been guiding the UN development system work since the 2023 SDG Summit. In the past year, how has your organization contributed to these transformative actions and how various actors are being rallied behind them to mobilize further leadership and investment to bring progress to scale? Please provide any relevant links. (max 200 words under each transition)
1. Food systems
ECA in collaboration with the WFP and ECOWAS Commission, developed an analytical study on how macroeconomic stability reflects on food security in West and Central Africa., The findings of the study are guiding the development of a regional program aimed at improving food security and enhancing ecosystem in West and Central Africa, with a focus on the Central Sahel area.
Supporting the preparation of a new policy framework for agricultural transformation in Africa, ECA led a technical team to develop a background report on agro-industry as a key driver to agricultural transformation in Africa. The background report was validated and integrated into the Post Malabo document, set to be endorsed in the upcoming Extra-ordinary AU Summit to be held on 11 January 2025 in Kampala, Uganda. The team consists of more than 10 members, including, among others, FAO, UNIDO, Academya2062, FARA, AUC, USAID, and several research and academia institutions, Africa-based private sector institutions. Based on the report, agro-industry will be considered as a key driver for agricultural transformation in Africa within the context of the Post Malabo Declaration and associated action plan.
In supporting foods systems transformation in Africa, the subprogramme co-organized, with the United Nations Food System Coordination Hub the 2024 Africa Food Systems Transformation Progress meeting. The meeting convened Food Systems National Convenors and other experts from across the continent to assess the progress made in transforming food systems, facilitate regional knowledge sharing, and identify emerging patterns and solutions. The National Conveners were also introduced to several issues of major concern to food systems transformation, including innovative financing and convergence of food systems transformation and climate action and the outcomes of COP 2023.
With a view to accelerate the implementation of AfCFTA toward the achievement of several SDGs, including SDG2, ECA has provided technical support to each of the governments of Zambia and Zimbabwe in improving cross-border trade and diversification and in the development of a common agro-industrial park. ECA has prepared an assessment study report for maize and dairy cross-border value chains; a review report of policy, regulatory and institutional frameworks in support of cross border maize and dairy products value chains, and export strategies for the 2 indicated commodities. ECA provided also tailored training to strengthen the capacity of the 2 member states to mainstream regional value chains development in policies, strategies, and programmes.
2. Energy access and affordability
ECA is supporting member States aiming to harness their natural resources for greater returns, value-addition, and indeed to help bridge their energy gaps. Africa is a key player in the ‘critical minerals’ needed to produce renewable energy technologies, and countries are harnessing ECA support, as well as the tenets of the Africa Mining Vision, Africa Green Minerals Strategy and other guidance to better utilize these minerals to feed into greater production and transmission of energy locally, as well as to add value and ultimately fabricate higher-value and job-creation products, as evidenced by progress made by the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia in the battery and electric vehicle value chain.
3. Digital connectivity
4. Education
5. Jobs and social protection
6. Climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution
(i) ECA has developed a Framework for a national nature strategy to facilitate efforts by African and other countries to draw up and implement national nature strategies that are in alignment with the provisions of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and other international obligations biodiversity and ecosystems conservation.
(ii) ECA, African Union Commission and other partners have developed the Africa Continental Circular Economy Action Plan. This action plan is a framework to guide and catalyze subregional, national, subnational, and private sector action to transform Africa’s economic systems into a circular, resilient, inclusive, nature-positive, and competitive ones, that maximize local value creation and reduces environmental pollution and impacts, thereby contributing to Africa’s prosperity.
(iii) To support the African region in the Paris Agreement global governance processes, ECA convened the 12th Climate Change Development for Africa (CCDA) in Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire from 30th August to 2nd September 2024, where Africa’s common positions for the 29th Conference of Parties to the UNFCCC (COP29) in line with the 2023 Global Stocktake (GST) were developed. The event was organized in collaboration with AUC, ECA, AfDB, Cote D’Ivoire government, WMO, African Group of Climate Change Negotiators (AGN), Pan-Africa Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA), The Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (ICRAF-CIFOR), Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) and Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa (AICCRA). The outcome further provided technical input into the 10th AMCEN special meeting held back-to-back with the conference.
(iv) ECA further organized capacity building on Article 6 of the Paris Agreement for regional UNFCCC focal points and experts, and also developed four knowledge products on Article 6 i.e., three policy briefs for policy makers, government institutions and private sector, as well as one QnA.
(v) ECA commissioned an analysis of the first Paris Agreement Global Stocktake (GST) and will use the findings to inform support to countries as they prepare their third generation of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
6. Please provide strategies (policies, guidance, plan) and/or collective actions taken to implement the 2024 Ministerial Declaration of the Economic and Social Council and the high-level political forum on sustainable development convened under the auspices of the Council. Please note any challenges foreseen and provide any relevant links.
7. What collective efforts is your entity undertaking to support countries in accelerating the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, especially in the areas of Goal 3 (Good health and well-being), Goal 5 (Gender equality), Goal 8 (Decent work and economic growth), Goal 14 (Life below water) and Goal 17 (Partnerships), which will go under in-depth review at the HLPF in 2025? Please note any achievements, challenges and gaps and provide any relevant links.
(i) The ECA Engineering Expertise for Improved Healthcare Outcomes in Africa is an initiative of ECA focuses on building the engineering, technical and entrepreneurship skills; highlights opportunities in medical devices industry and supports countries to address safety and regulatory concerns. Africa imports about 90% of its medical devices and lacks the skills to install, maintain, upgrade, design and produce medical devices to meet its needs. By 2023, the initiative had 19 universities that worked with 81 national, regional and district referral hospitals; 111 collaborating universities – 81 from Africa and 40 from outside Africa- 14 firms providing entrepreneurial talent and technical support; 17 research and development (R&D) centres that are key in product development; six (6) non-for profits in the engineering and health technology. About 500 innovation concepts presented and reviewed; 3 products in clinical trials and 1 in the market. The initiative takes a three-pronged approach:
- Human capital development: A generic Undergraduate Curriculum for a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering was designed and adopted which helps interested universities to quickly launch or improve exist programs. Ensuring that they were run as normal university degree programs was key to growth and sustainability of long term.
- Innovation and entrepreneurship: The International Design competition is a 6-9 month program where students and their lecturers conduct brainstorming sessions, visit hospitals, and invite industry and healthcare professionals to their working session to identify challenges or opportunities worth designing an engineering solution for. The best 20-30 projects attend a weeklong intensive Innovators Design School. Each team, however, must be interdisciplinary and with at least a third of members being female and attend all classes and talks and translate their concept into a demonstration product (hardware or software or both).
- Sustainability: Recognizing that the UN has limited resources and its support will end, a regional consortium -the African Biomedical Engineering Consortium or (ABEC) was formed has enabled the institutions to secure a $1.5 million grant to build an EU-Africa open innovation support platform the offers guidance on design, standards, safety and mentoring and a $1.2 million grant to train researchers and lecturer at MSc and PhD levels, support exchange and mobility of staff.
Overall, the initiative continues to generate human capital healthcare institutions desperately need, health technologies, create employment opportunities, address gender inequalities in engineering and advance education all at once.
(ii) On Goal 5 gender equality, ECA is running a program in Malawi, DRC, Guinea and Tanzania. The program ‘Gender responsive land governance in Africa as a pathway for enhancing women’s resilience in the context of COVID-19’. The project’s objective is to support selected member States review land policies and strengthen institutions to design, and implement gender-responsive policies and legal framework, with the outcome to provide equitable access to land for all land users and to strengthen land tenure security of women. The project focuses on national and local level policy and practice changes related to women’s land rights. The project’s most significant expected result are policies and practices that promote and protect women’s land rights in pandemic or disaster situations.
(iii) On Goal 17 Partnerships, ECA convenes the biennial Conference on Land Policy in Africa in close collaboration with the AUC and AfDB. Other partners who have been supporting the CLPA include SDC, UNHabitat, BMZ/GIZ among others. The overall objective of the conference is to deepen commitment and strengthen capacity for land policy development, implementation, and monitoring in Africa through improved access to knowledge and information in support of evidence-based land policymaking. The dialogue fosters improved networking, partnerships and resources for land governance and land policy in Africa.
8. If your organization has been part of any initiatives or multi-stakeholder partnerships in the past year that support these goals, please copy the below table to fill out for each initiative/partnership.
Initiative/Partnership Name | Great Blue Wall Initiative |
Partners (please list all partners) | IUCN |
Relevant SDGs (list all relevant goals) | SDG14, SDG17 |
Member States benefiting from it | African SIDS and coastal States in Western Indian Ocean |
Description (max 150 words) | The great blue wall is a Western Indian Ocean (WIO)-born, African-driven roadmap to achieve a nature-positive world by 2030. It is an action-driven regional response to the three interconnected crises of biodiversity loss, climate change, and economic decline. It aims at unlocking nature-based recovery efforts through the establishment of a transformational movement that dramatically accelerates and upscales ocean conservation action while enhancing socioecological resilience and the development of a regenerative blue economy. |
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Initiative/Partnership Name | Support to Africa’s participation at COP29 |
Partners (please list all partners) | AUC, AfDB and AUDA-NEPAD |
Relevant SDGs (list all relevant goals) | SDG 13, SDG17 |
Member States benefiting from it | All 54 African member states |
Description (max 150 words) | ECA collaborates with the listed regional institutions to elicit climate change key issues and messages, which feed into the AGN common positions for the continent. The common positions guide the lead negotiators in their engagements at meetings such as the June subsidiary bodies meeting and the Conference of Parties to the UNFCCC (COP). |
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Initiative/Partnership Name | 2326L - Expanded and resilient urban fiscal space for an inclusive and resilient COVID-19 recovery in Africa |
Partners (please list all partners) | ECA, ECE, ECLAC, ESCAP, ESCWA, UN-Habitat CRGP |
Relevant SDGs (list all relevant goals) | SDG 11 |
Member States benefiting from it | Ecuador (Quito), India (Coimbatore), Lebanon (Beirut), Montenegro (Podgorica), Zimbabwe (Harare) |
Description (max 150 words) | The project will enhance the cities' capacity to engage with donors and international financial institutions, resulting in concrete projects and programs supporting urban resilience. By the project's end, the target cities are expected to have the capacity to prepare project pipelines and engage directly with financial institutions. Activities will include capacity-building, identification of financing sources for the cities’ projects and support with those projects' development. It also emphasizes continued support and knowledge exchange among the pilot cities globally. |
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Initiative/Partnership Name | 2427A - Strengthening Capacity for evidence-based Social Protection Policies for responding to the triple global crisis in fuel, food and finance |
Partners (please list all partners) | UNDESA, UNESCAP, UNECA |
Relevant SDGs (list all relevant goals) | SDG 1 |
Member States benefiting from it | Cambodia, Maldives, Namibia, Senegal, Tanzania, Zambia |
Description (max 150 words) | This work is expected to enhance capacities of target countries to develop integrated social protection policies and strategies that enhance the delivery of social protection services and increase resilience to future crises in the six selected countries in the regions of Africa and Asia and the Pacific, which would be demonstrated by the enhanced capacity of selected countries to design and implement public policies and programmes towards universal social protection, with a focus on identifying and incorporating into the policies and programmes the most affected people and people in vulnerable situations who are disproportionately impacted by the Triple Crisis |
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Initiative/Partnership Name | Development Account in Bridging the Social Protection Gaps in the Arab Region and Africa |
Partners (please list all partners) | UNECA, UNESCWA |
Relevant SDGs (list all relevant goals) | SDG 1 |
Member States benefiting from it | Djibouti, Morocco, Ghana |
Description (max 150 words) | the project aims to “Strengthen the capacity of countries of the Arab and Africa regions to identify and assess social protection needs and gaps and to design, adapt and implement policies and programs to close these gaps”. Using ESCWA’s newly developed self-assessment template to establish Comprehensive National Social Protection Systems and Reforms Country Profile Reports, ESCWA’s social protection team will guide and coach key government officials and relevant actors (including Think Tanks) in identified countries (Djibouti, Morocco, Ghana) in jointly applying the template, enabling them to design effective and sustainable solutions to address SP gaps that are tailored to the specific country context. |
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Initiative/Partnership Name | 2427F - Urban Economic Resilience for inclusive responses and recovery from crises |
Partners (please list all partners) | ECA, ECE, ECLAC, ESCAP, ESCWA, UN-Habitat CRGP |
Relevant SDGs (list all relevant goals) | SDG 1 |
Member States benefiting from it | Ecuador (Quito), India (Coimbatore), Lebanon (Beirut), Montenegro (Podgorica), Zimbabwe (Harare) |
Description (max 150 words) | the project will enhance the cities' capacity to engage with donors and international financial institutions, resulting in concrete projects and programs supporting urban resilience. By the project's end, the target cities are expected to have the capacity to prepare project pipelines and engage directly with financial institutions. Activities will include capacity-building, identification of financing sources for the cities’ projects and support with those projects' development. It also emphasizes continued support and knowledge exchange among the pilot cities globally. |
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Initiative/Partnership Name | Green (nature-based) innovations (biopesticides) developed for an improved and sustainable (biological) control of risks and impacts of migratory pest |
Partners (please list all partners) | UNECA, Desert Locust Control Organization of East Africa (DLCO-EA) |
Relevant SDGs (list all relevant goals) | SDG 2, 3, 6, 12, 13, 15 |
Member States benefiting from it | Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, South-Sudan, Uganda, and Tanzania |
Description (max 150 words) | ECA assisted the Desert Locust Control Organization of East Africa (DLCO-EA) to obtain intellectual property (patent) protection in South Africa and ARIPO offices for their green (nature-based) innovations (biopesticides) developed for an improved and sustainable (biological) control of risks and impacts of migratory pests mainly locusts known to cause food insecurity in the Horne of Africa. ECA assisted DLCO-EA with the assessment of environmental impacts of the biopesticides. The impacts are by far inferior to those of the annoying chemical pesticides widely available on markets. Patent protection will facilitate the manufacturing and market availability of the biopesticides. UNECA will mentor DLCO-EA to establish improved integrated pest management strategies incorporating green innovations (biopesticides) and reduce the wide use of chemicals pesticides and related toxicity to environmental health in those countries. ECA also assisted DLCO-ECA to improve the capacity to monitor/predict the outbreaks of locusts using satellite technologies and advanced mathematical modeling tools. Among the main anticipated outcomes of this UNECA intervention are reduced the use chemical pesticides (SDG12) and their impacts on occupational health (SDG3.3), and food insecurity (SDG2) in the Horne of Africa. |
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